


The bringer of death and the apocalypse

by Irondragon4



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Cobra is finally relivant to the plot, Gajeel just has a lot of angsty shit going on, Gajeel needs help, Gajeel's arm can become a chainsaw what do you expect, Gajeel's life is just going to shit now, Gay poly relationship, Heavy Angst, I swear Cobra will be here soon, Implied Relationships, Implied abusive relationships, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jose is a fucking asshole, LOTS of violence, Lots of Angst, M/M, Might swap a few things around/edit things, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poly Relationship, Some Fluff, Somone needs to help the poor boy, Sting finally has a reason to exist for future plot. Lol, This is mostly just angst though, Totomaru is a member of Fairy tail now, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 60
Words: 69,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22696834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irondragon4/pseuds/Irondragon4
Summary: "The child of the apocalypse. A creature that is neither man nor dragon. A creature that frightened both kinds. A creature destined to bring about an eternal nightmare to the world"Gajeel Has always been slightly different from other dragon slayers although he never realised it. During his entire time in Phantom Lord, he never came into contact with another dragon slayer that was his age until his battle with Natsu.The only dragon slayer he came into contact with was a young dragon slayer called Raios, who at the time, wasn't old enough to be using his magic.Since he never came into contact with another dragon slayer, he didn't realise the habits that he found perfectly fine, were not.After his fight with Natsu, things begin to take a more complicated route. His constant blackout phases become more frequent and like always, they are in the middle of a battle and he always wakes up, covered in blood, clothes torn and shoes completly absent.What is the source of the constant blackouts? What does it have to do with his habits? And why does his blackouts scare other people?
Relationships: Cobra | Erik/Gajeel Redfox, Cobra | Erik/Gajeel Redfox/Laxus Dreyar, Cobra | Erik/Laxus Dreyar, Cobra | Erik/Laxus Dreyar/Gajeel Redfox/Natsu Dragneel, Cobra | Erik/Natsu Dragneel, Cobra | Erik/Natsu Dragneel/Laxus Dreyar, Cobra | Erik/Natsu Dragneel/Laxus Dreyar/Gajeel Redfox, Gajeel Redfox & Sting Eucliffe, Gajeel Redfox & Totomaru, Juvia Lockser & Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar/Gajeel Redfox, Metalicana & Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel/Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel/Laxus Dreyar, Natsu Dragneel/Laxus Dreyar/Gajeel Redfox, Pantherlily & Gajeel Redfox, Rogue Cheney & Gajeel Redfox, Totomaru & Juvia Lockser, Wendy Marvell & Gajeel Redfox
Comments: 45
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This book is a slight AU based on a headcannon that I have. It takes place during the original thing but things have been altered.

Strong gusts of wind tore through the now open roofed guild Hall that was occupied by Phantom Lord. The room in question was decimated beyond belief. Metal plates had been torn up from the ground or bent from the battle, a few pieces being bit into, clearly shown by the teeth marks that bent the metal around them. A generator that sat at the far side had exploded, the last of the flames flickering about lazily, only becoming more vigorous when hit with the strong winds. Anyone who had been in the room itself was no longer standing, all lying flat on the ground for 2 reasons, either the winds had blown them over or they had fallen whenever the building itself was struck, creating tremors through the metal. All eyes were trained upon the two dragon slayers who landed back on their feet from throwing punches and kicks at each other in the air. Both were covered in bruises and cuts, blood dribbling down and leaving little droplets of blood on the floor. A tall man wiped a muscular arm just below his mouth, his usually slicked back hair falling out of its spiky position and either falling over his shoulders or small locks falling into his face, hiding the crimson eyes behind a curtain of black.  
"Give up Salamander. You won't win" he growled, chest heaving heavily, clearly out of breath from his dragon roar that he had used prior to the two landing on the metal floor. The other dragon slayer, a pink haired male -who you couldn't tell whether he used too much gel in his hair or it just went like that naturally- stood his ground, hand wrapped around his other arm while also heavily panting. He pulled back his upper lip, showing off sharp canines to his fellow dragon slayer. He removed his hand from his other arm and slowly let brightly coloured flames dance from his fingers to the palm of his hand. He slammed his palm shut, the flames licking up to his wrist. He looked back at the heavily scaled man in front of him, the metal Armour slightly cracked just near his eye. Whether that would cause permanent damage when he reverted didn't concern the fire slayer at that point in time, neither did the slight trickle of blood that escaped from that crack. He took one step forward before his second step led him into a sprint, allowing him to leap at his opponent when close. His opponent was caught off guard, resulting in a strong deck to the jaw which sent the iron slayer to the tumbling backwards into the metal.  
"Way to go Natsu!" a blond girl and small blue and white cat cheered, the cat's small paws happily flailing back and forth. The iron slayer was on the ground, breathing heavy and hands clinging to the ground beneath him. Overall, he appeared to be in pain. Natsu looked over, Onyx eyes not losing their edge. He took one step forward, then a second. Before he could take a 3rd step, he froze. Protruding from the man's back was two slick white bones, one on either side of his back. Another bone slowly retracted from the base of his spine and several broke through his hair on his head. His face structure sharped, a small muzzle forming with sharp teeth hanging out from the jaws like they couldn't be contained in his mouth. The bones quickly acquired muscles and a scale covering on top, protecting them from damage. His shoes quickly being torn from the long claws that had formed on his feet. He slowly staggered to his feet, shoes being left where he had been kneeling. He lifted his head and stared forward at the man in front of him, his already slit pupils slitting even more until you could barely even see the single line of black in the sea of red that was his eyes.  
"What the-?" Natsu asked, this time taking a step back. The iron slayer parted his jaws slightly, elongated nose twitching before he leapt forward, front claws outstretched and ready to sink into flesh. Natsu was unprepared, jumping to move to late and receiving a claw in his foot as a result, his black sandles doing nothing to protect his feet from the attack. He cried out in pain, quickly pulling his foot back. The clawed hand that was in his foot hadn't been removed though so when he pulled his foot back, more skin was torn, leaving a stinging pain in his left foot. He staggered back before looking up. The male stood in front of him, eyes trained on him. Natsu's eyes widened when he saw the strips of skin that had been pulled off hanging from the iron slayer's claws, blood soaking them and dripping onto the floor in fat drops.  
"What the hell Redfox" Natsu growled, teeth grinding together in pain. He didn't respond, eyes still trained on him. He then leapt forward, claws outstretched like an Eagle diving towards its prey. Natsu was a little more prepared this time, quickly jumping to the side, avoiding the attack. His opponent tumbled to the ground only to scramble into all fours as to not let himself be left open. The long, iron plated tail curled close as if trying to protect its owner. Natsu quickly coated both hands in flames and leapt forward, one arm outstretched. He hit his opponent in the side, causing the male to stagger even when in his hands and feet. He then landed a kick on his face. He tried to go for a second kick but the iron slayer reached out two scaled hands and caught the flame covered foot before it could strike. He then, using all the strength in his arms, threw Natsu into the wall of the room. Natsu hit the floor with a thud and stayed there for a few minutes before pushing himself onto his feet. He ran forward again and kicked Gajeel in the chest and punched him in the throat. The dragon slayer coughed up a thick clump of blood, standing on trembling legs. Natsu stepped back, prepared to attack again if need be. The iron slayer looked at him for a few seconds, breathing thick and laboured. He then proceeded to crash down onto the floor, face first. His body went completely still, even his chest stilling.   
"Ummmm?" Natsu stated, slowly walking forward. The dragon features shed there scales and retracted back to where they came from while the iron scales that covered his body slowly disappeared from his skin. Natsu poked the back of his head, raising one arm in front of his face incase he woke up. Natsu received no response from the gesture. He tried again and still got no response. A puddle of blood was forming under his head and his breathing was practically non existent at this point.   
"Maybe we should help him?" the blond suggested, slowly walking over.  
"Why?" Natsu asked, lip curling up in disgust.   
"Well. He's hurt. And I don't think he's breathing" she replied, looking down at the male who's back and shoulders was shrouded in a mane of black. Natsu closed his eyes for a second then sighed.   
"I guess. He can owe me food or something for this then" he decided, crossing his arms to finalize what he'd said. The blond gave a small laugh before looking down at the still body on the floor.   
"Now we just need to figure out how to get him out of here" she pointed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Natsu staggered across the ground, partially due to how exhausted and injured he was from fighting the fire user of the element four and then fighting Gajeel with little to no time in between and partially due to the dead weight of said dragon slayer that he was practically dragging on his back.  
"Damm..... This guy's heavy" he puffed, trying to get a better grip on Gajeel's belt. He failed to grab back onto the belt when he shifted his hands, leaving the dragon slayer to fall to the ground with a hard thud.  
"Natsu. Be careful" Happy whined. "You could help me you know" Natsu snapped back at his winged partner who was snickering next to him.  
"I think I'll let you carry your precious dragon alone" he snickered, hands up to his mouth and legs kicking in amusement.   
"Shut up. That's not what this is" Natsu growled, getting defensive.  
"Really? You gave in so easily to help him" Happy pointed out.   
"Yeah. And? I want to ask him if he knows where Igneel went" Natsu defended, crossing his arms.  
"Hate to break whatever this is up but there isn't going to be anyone to ask if we don't get him back to the guild and treated" Lucy stated. Natsu grumbled before he bent down, taking a hold of Gajeel's belt once again. He hoisted him onto his back and started stumbling along the street. They reached the crowd that was their guildmates who were happily cheering about their victory against Phantom Lord. A muscular man with snow white hair turned to the approaching mages.  
"Natsu?" he asked before his eyes rested on the man his pink haired comrade was carrying.   
"What are you doing with him? He wreaked our guild Hall and hurt out guildmates. Why would you bring him back here?" he asked. His outburst brought more attention onto them. Everyone was now looking at the battered dragon slayer who was carrying another equally battered dragon slayer.  
"What's going on?" someone asked from behind. Everyone looked. An armoured woman with long scarlet hair and a short old man who was thinning up top were approaching.  
"Gramps?" Natsu asked, looking over at the man.   
"Master. He was dying and we couldn't just leave him there" Lucy explained, fiddling with her fingers. The man looked over at the unconscious dragon slayer. Gajeel looked ready to fall apart any second. He had dark marks running up his skin like he'd been burned and allthough they weren't the worst, they were still there, proving that Natsu's fire could break through his scales. Blood was falling down the right side of his face although you couldn't see the wound itself due to his long black bangs that were falling over his face. His mouth was hung open but his chest wasn't rising and falling. At least not to the naked eye.  
"Alright. We'll set up a small room where we can keep him while he heals and while we're at it, we'll block his magic so that he can't use it on anyone" the master explained. He led Natsu through the new frames of what would be the new guild hall. They reached a part of the building that had actually been built. It was a small room but it would be fine for keeping the single dragon slayer in for the time being. A mattress was brought in, giving the iron slayer some comfort while he healed. A chain was attached to the floor, only hooked to one cuff while the other cuff was free. An enchantment was put on the cuffs and chain, preventing the dragon slayer from biting through the metal and escaping. Natsu practically dumped the guy onto the mattress, falling to the ground himself with a huff. Erza walked into the room, an old woman with long pink hair following after her who did not look overly impressed with being here.  
"Porlyusica. Could you take a look at this young man for us?" the master asked, gesturing to the dragon slayer before them all. She grumbled something about humans but walked over anyway. She first started looking at the dark marks which were only on the Iron slayer's chest, stomach and arms. They were also faintly on his face. She ran her fingers over the marks.   
"He's been burned by an incredibly strong fire" she stated.   
"What? But he had scales on. It took all I had to even put a crack in his armour but your saying he was burnt" Natsu yelled.  
"These burns aren't as severe as they could be. Those scales did protect him just not completely" Porlyusica snapped, keeping her attention on the man in front of her. She pushed back his hair, looking at his face which was caked in blood. The healer picked up a cloth, rubbing it across the bloodied skin so she could take a closer look. A thin cut ran around the side of his eye in the exact same place that the crack in his armour had been.  
"This will most definitely scar" she muttered, running her hands over the cut. She wrapped the cut in bandages before moving onto the burns. She applied cream to each of them before wrapping them up.   
"If he starts scratching then use this. Scratching will make things worse" she exclaimed, handing a tub of cream to Natsu before walking out of the room. The master sighed.   
"Alright Natsu. You'll be in charge of taking care of the boy. That means you make sure he's fed and that his wounds are treated" he explained. Natsu grumbled under his breath but didn't object.


	3. Chapter 3

"When's he gonna wake up. I'm tired of watching him" Natsu complained, sitting cross legged on the ground next to the make-shift bed that an unconscious Gajeel lay in, eyes closed and arms left at his sides. A tray was put down on the ground with two plates of food and two glasses of water.   
"Stop complaining about it Natsu. It's your job to watch him. Besides, your the one who brought him here in the first place" Gray scolds from behind him. Lucy gets up from where she had knelt down to put the tray down and walked over to where Gray stood.   
"I know but he's been sleeping for 3 days now" Natsu whined, puffing out his cheeks in annoyance.  
"He's unconscious Natsu. That's what being unconscious means" Lucy points out, shaking her head.   
"But look. He doesn't even respond when I do this" Natsu gestures, poking the burnt and scared side of Gajeel's face, entailing no physical response from the iron slayer. Natsu turned to his friends, his fingers still preoccupied with poking the face of the iron slayer.   
"You're just being a pain. He'll wake up when he wakes up. Besides, your still in charge of taking care of him when he wakes up. You probably won't be leaving this room anytime soon" Gray explained, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes with a deep sigh. Natsu stuck his tongue out at the ice user, eyes squeezed shut during the gesture. His childish action was quickly followed by a pained scream from the fire dragon. He ripped his hand back, blood splashing in front of him, landing on his trousers, the floor boards, mattress and the iron slayer who was awake, blood splashed on his teeth and bits of torn skin stuck between his teeth. Natsu held his bleeding hand, looking at the torn skin with a whimper. The iron slayer sat up quickly, examining his surroundings. He panted heavily, eyes cloudy and unfocused. He turned to Natsu, face not registering who was in front of him at first. His pupils narrowed then dilated slightly, focusing on the pink haired mage who sat in front of him. Teeth were pulled back in a snarl, the blood and skin still woven in his teeth.   
"What the hell? You bit me" Natsu snapped. Gray and Lucy looked at each other, unsure whether they should pitch in or not.   
"What are you doing here Salamander?" Gajeel growled. He then proceeded to shake his head, nearly falling right back on his back with a whimper escaping his lips. Natsu stayed quite, slowly getting onto his feet in a crouched position and moving around so he could see the dragon slayer's face which was hidden by his long dark locks from his previous angle. Natsu looked at the man in front of him, watching his black pupils dilate and narrow constantly like he didn't know if he should be angry or docile. Natsu looked over to where Gray and Lucy had stood. The two had left the room, either going to get the master or wishing not to be around the dragon slayer who could be seen as a danger to them all.  
"Gajeel?" Natsu asked, keeping a calm voice and an open posture. It was clear that something in the iron slayer wasn't stable. He snapped his head up, his voice going from a growl to a whimper and back again. Natsu kept eye contact with the dragon slayer who slowly got onto his feet, copying the crouched position that Natsu was in although he was taller in that position considering the iron slayer was over 6ft tall. He made his way closer, the chain clinging and scrapping on the wooden floor. A hand- which was gaining claws and grey scales that were quickly traveling up his arm and around his body- reached for Natsu, not threateningly but gently as if the fire slayer would crack with a single touch. Natsu stayed completely still, eyes focused on Gajeel's. The iron slayer was calm even as long white bones broke out of the skin on his back. The door slammed open, the crimson colour that Natsu was staring in practically enveloping the iron slayer's eyes as he turned to the door, roaring in anger with blood and saliva flying out of his mouth. A long white bone that protruded from where his tail bone would be wrapped around Natsu's waist, iron scales coating the long bone. Mira and the master ran into the room along with Gray and Lucy.   
"He's going to hurt Natsu" Lucy cried out. Mira lifted her hand which only made the tail tighten around Natsu's waist. Gajeel was aggressively tugging on the chain, the metal banging repeatedly against the floor every time. The scales pressed right up against the cuffs on his hands, causing the scales to dip inwards. Into his skin. Only Natsu- who was now pressed up against the iron dragon who's face was gaining a small muzzle- could see this. Gajeel let out another roar, chain still being pulled violently and wings spread out to make himself look bigger and more menacing. Mira slowly walked forward, not wanting to use her demon soul when one of her guild mates was being held by the man she would have attacked. She got close, Gajeel trying to sink his teeth into her hand. She quickly pulled her hand back before reaching it out again, pressing it just above his muzzle and using a sleeping spell. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, eyelids falling closed before he fell forward, one arm extended while the chained arm was left in an awkward position. The tail that was wrapped around Natsu's waist went limp, leaving Natsu to fall backwards onto his ass. He looked at the iron slayer who's wings and tail were shedding their scales, the bones slowly retracting back into his body. He was back to being peaceful as his face returned to its usual composure and his breathing died down to an unregistrable level but Natsu could just barely hear it. The four people in the room were swarming around Natsu but he wasn't hearing their questions. All he could think about was how Gajeel had reacted during the entire situation.


	4. Chapter 4

Natsu sat alone in the small room, face squished between his palms and eyes focused on the once again unconscious dragon slayer in front of him. He huffed out a long breath, irritated with how the iron dragon slayer hadn't woken up from Mira's sleeping spell. His eyes were currently hung half closed as if he was going to fall asleep any moment. They instantly snapped open fully when the slayer in front of him shifted, hands falling between his legs as to support him when he leaned forward. Thick, black eyelashes fluttered open, crimson eyes directed upwards but unfocused.   
"Hey" Natsu greeted. The dragon slayer instantly shot up, staring at Natsu while the chain clattered loudly against the ground. He looked at him, muscles tense and chest rumbling with a growl.   
"What are you doing here Salamander?" Gajeel ordered, still to look around at his surroundings.   
"Well, I brought you back to my guild since you appeared to be dying" Natsu explained, still leaning forward.   
"Oh. You're hungry right? You haven't eaten in 6 days" Natsu offered a tray with food and a glass of water to the iron slayer. He looked at the food skeptically, lip rising up.   
"Its not poisoned. There's also a bit of iron sprinkled in it too. You like that kinda stuff right. Since you're the iron dragon slayer and all" he babbled, still holding the tray. Gajeel quickly snatched the plate from the tray, quickly scarfing down the food on the plate, trying to make up for the 6 days that his stomach had been empty for. When finished his food, he quickly downed the water. When finished, he swiped his tongue at the water and food scraps that were around his mouth.   
"Woah. Your tongue's pierced too" Natsu spoke in awe, eyes wide. Gajeel looked at the dragon slayer, dark bangs falling over his face.   
"Why are you still here?" he growled, tugging on the chain around his wrist.   
"I'm supposed to be watching you. Gramps put me in charge of you" he explained. Gajeel raised his upper lip in disgust at the idea of being babysat by such an idiotic dragon slayer.   
"I also wanted to ask where you learnt your dragon slayer magic" Natsu added, eyes brightening and mouth moving up into an excited smile as if he were a child staring at the tree on Christmas day.   
"My dragon obviously" Gajeel growled, keeping a guarded tone.   
"What was his name?" Natsu asked, intrigued by the other dragon slayer even if his crimson eyes were trying to bore holes into his soul.  
"Why do you care?" the slayer snapped, eyes narrowing and teeth slamming together at the end, creating a slight noise that both dragon slayers caught.   
"Well. Since you are the only dragon slayer that I've seen, I want to know more about what happened with you and your dragon. Were they like a father figure to you too?" he asked. Gajeel went silent. He couldn't remember a time where he wasn't around dragons. Granted, he had only ever been around two dragons in his life that he remembered, Metalicana being the most prominent but still. The other dragon he remembered had been jet black with many blue markings covering his scales. He had only ever been around one human as a kid back when he lived with Metalicana that he vaginally remembered. Anytime he tried to remember the exact person, all he could see was someone with dark skin and a thick mane of azure hair. Sometimes he would remember piercing green eyes but that was it. He could never remember who that person was or why they were there, just that they were.  
"Gajeel?" Natsu asked.   
"What?!" he snapped, the guarded look returning to his features.   
"You didn't answer my question. You went really quite" Natsu explained.  
"And. I don't need to answer any of your questions" Gajeel snapped. Natsu pouted.   
"You are such a pain. I'm trying to be nice and you won't stop being an asshole. Why won't you just accept that someone might actually want to get to know you and be your friend" Natsu snapped, his nails digging into the palms of his hands in annoyance. Gajeel paused again, gaze becoming unfocused like he was staring at something that wasn't actually there. Natsu blinked, looking at Gajeel. His eyes focused again, becoming hardened once again which prevented the fire slayer from figuring out what the other slayer was feeling.  
"No one would want to be friends with me" he stated.   
"You don't know if that's true or not" Natsu challenged Gajeel's mindset.  
"No one ever wants to be friends with me!" Gajeel snapped, clearly not listening to what the salmon haired mage was saying.  
"Why are you so stubborn? That is a ridiculous mindset. I bet there are plenty of people who would be your friend if you gave them a chance" Natsu argued. He wasn't going to give up that easily.   
"I don't need friends" he growled. Natsu groaned loudly.   
"Where did you even get these arguments from. They just sound like rehashed arguments" Natsu complained. He wanted to get something out of this argument, even if it was just a little thing. Gajeel's toughed gaze broke slightly. He looked surprised. Natsu softened his own gaze.   
"Give me one good reason why no one should be your friend?" Natsu challenged, determined to get something of substance from the iron slayer. Gajeel paused, clearly running through things in his head. Over the time he was doing this, his shoulders slumped, his muscles relaxed and his eyes dropped.   
"I'm a useless piece of garbage" he whispered, not making eye contact. Natsu was taken aback. He had broken through the iron dragon's shield with such ease. He had expected it to be so much harder but he caved pretty quickly for someone who had willingly beat up his guildmates.  
"Why attack my guildmates?" Natsu asked, hoping he could get more out of the slayer while his guard was down, who knew when that opportunity would occur again.   
"Violence is the only way you get what you want in life" Gajeel stated with certainty. He had never had the best role models growing up. For the longest time, he watched Metalicana and the other dragon fight often, the black dragon winning and getting what he wanted, usually doing something with Gajeel himself. Then after that, there was Jose who strived for Phantom Lord to be a guild that everyone feared, being partially responsible for molding Gajeel into the man he was now. Into Kurogane. That wasn't even including the one man Gajeel could never forget. The man who had gotten to Gajeel at such a young, impressionable age that he molded him into someone who despised everything about himself, tore away all his hobbies and left a permanent scar on the man. All Natsu could tell was if he wanted Gajeel to be his friend, to finally allow him the freedom he probably wanted, he would have to try his best to fix the black haired man. Whoever had been responsible for him, at some point in his life, had molded him into this aggressive man. If Natsu worked hard enough then there was a possibility that he could put back every broken piece of the iron dragon slayer and maybe, just maybe, he would come out a better person than before he was broken.


	5. Chapter 5

Gajeel stayed seated on the mattress, trying to sink his teeth into the metal of the chain but to no avail.   
"Must be enchanted" he muttered to himself, letting both arms flop down at his sides. It would be relatively quiet in this small room if it weren't for 2 factors. Gajeel was a dragon slayer and the mages of Fairy Tail didn't know how to keep quite when it came to.... well anything. The long haired male attempted to stand but the metal chain prevented him from standing up due to his height and the chain's length. He grumbled, tugging on the chain to try and free himself. He hated being confined like this. Natsu was gone when he woke up so he had no idea what time it actually was. Not like that mattered. It was clear that the Fairy tail guild master didn't plan on having him going anywhere anytime soon. He was seriously debating if he should just go back to sleep when the door to the small room slammed open with enough force to nearly knock the wood off its hinges. Natsu practically jumped over to Gajeel's bed, dropping what he held onto the mattress. When there was no longer bags or boxes in his hands, he turned around and walked over to the door so he could close it. When he turned back around, Gajeel was bent over, hands rummaging through one of the plastic bags and nose twitching like Natsu's did when he was using his nose to look for scents. Natsu jumped, tripping over his own feet in excitement and falling to the ground. At the noise, Gajeel pulled his hands away from the bags, back straightening and nose falling still. Natsu quickly lifted his head and gave a bright smile.   
"Whoops. Guess its good that I put everything down then" he laughed, pushing himself to his feet and walking the rest of the way over to the mattress and shoving his hands into the bags.  
"What are you doing?" Gajeel asked gruffly, pierced brows peaking in curiosity. Natsu felt his cheeks warm at the action. He was mentally comparing the iron dragon's expression to that off a puppy curious about what its owner had brought home, any lines of aggression that usually sat on the male's face absent as his eyes were directed at what Natsu brought with him rather than the fire slayer himself.   
"Well. Since you're gonna be here for a while, I decided to get something to do. I asked Gray for his portable Lacrima vision. He wouldn't give it too me until Erza made him. We can watch some movies. I got these ones from Gray too. He has a lot. I would have asked Erza but........... She has a lot of............ adult movies if you know what I mean" he explained, nervously fiddling with his scarf.  
"I smell food" Gajeel stated. Natsu perked at the change of subject.   
"Oh yeah. I got snacks" he explained, reaching over to one of the boxes and handing it to Gajeel. The iron slayer looked at it with a large amount of suspicion.   
"Its a present. For you" Natsu explains. Gajeel looks up at the fire slayer then back down at the grey box. It rather heavy so whatever was in the box must be either large or weigh a lot. He flicked the lid off the box and looked at what was in the box. It was full of chunks of metal.

Natsu looked at the iron slayer with caution, unsure of his reaction. A small smile made its way onto his slightly chapped lips at the sight of the metal.   
"I got the expensive kind. I figured expensive metals tasted better. I think I also got some gold too. Don't know if you can eat gold but worth a shot right" Natsu explained, mouth wide in a toothy grin. Gajeel looked at the fire slayer. He didn't say anything but Natsu could tell from his eyes that he was very thankful.   
"Well let's put on a movie then" Natsu cheered, setting up the portable lacrima vision and put in a classic Disney movie. Natsu settled down right next to Gajeel, their shoulders brushing ever so slightly. Natsu lay all the food out in front of them, allowing Gajeel to reach for whatever he wanted. About halfway through the movie, Natsu's gaze was more occupied with looking at Gajeel than the movie. The iron slayer still had his phantom lord guild mark on shoulder, clear to see in its blood coloured glory. Or former glory. Natsu trailed his gaze down the other male's arm, eyes trailing over each individual muscle. The man wasn't as buff as say Elfman but he had more muscle than Natsu. The fire slayer wondered if it had something to do with his magic or if the long haired man thought it looked intimidating. The pink tint on his cheeks was unpreventable as the slayer stared at the taller man. Everything from his waist above was exposed as his shirt had been completely destroyed back when they had fought just a week ago. At one point during the movie, Gajeel was unable to not notice the bandage wrapped around the hand he had bit when Natsu reached over for the popcorn that was in Gajeel's line of sight. Had he really bit the shorter man that hard?  
"Enjoying the movie?" Natsu asked, looking up at the iron slayer who's eyes were now focused on Natsu's hand. Gajeel didn't say anything, instead reaching out and grabbing Natsu's hand. The fire slayer's cheeks betrayed him once again by flaring up with a gentle pink colour like that of a cherry blossom tree. He watched as the other slayer unwrapped his hand, exposing the almost healed skin. The bite mark was still there and would possibly scar but what truly caught both male's attention was the two small silver wings, no bigger than a bottle cap, sat in the middle of his hand.   
"What the-? That wasn't there before" Natsu mumbled. Gajeel pulled Natsu's hand close to his face, warm breath hitting against Natsu's hand and sending chills up his spine. The iron slayer stared at it for about a minute before dropping Natsu's hand and turning away.   
"Do you know what it is?" Natsu asked, not sure what to think about the whole thing.   
"No" Gajeel grumbled, shoving metal into his mouth. With each bite, Natsu could hear the crunch of teeth breaking into metal. He went quite, eating another piece of popcorn, letting the two men fall into silence.


	6. Chapter 6

It was completely silent when Natsu opened his eyes, nothing but dark shadows surrounding his gaze. He blinked a couple times to allow his eyes to adjust to this darkness while he processed where he was. He wasn't in his house since he was definitely not lying on a hammock. The other clue was the muscular arm draped over his waist. At first, in his sleepy haze, he couldn't identify who's arm that was. He looked over it, eyes taking in the faded scars, the tanned skin and the 4 small round circles of metal on the forearm. Then it registered in his head who it was. Gajeel's arm was draped over his waist. That fact made his face heat up a deep shade of red. He did his best to turn around without waking the taller man up. He looks up at his face which is incredibly peaceful, no lines of aggression in sight, just a slightly gaped mouth that reveled the tips of pointed teeth and long locks of hair that fell over his face, almost completely enveloping his scared up eye. The flushed dragon slayer leaned closer, enjoying the closeness between them. He wrapped his arms around the iron slayer and buried his face into his chest as best he could while breathing in his scent. A tingling feeling in the hand that was bit alerted Natsu. He opened his eyes again, bouncing his hand slightly in an attempt to get rid of the tingling feeling. The movement of his hand disturbed the iron slayer who's eyes opened lazily, red eyes hazy with sleep. He looked at Natsu who felt his heart rising up in his throat as he stared at the sleepy dragon slayer. Gajeel sat up, resulting in Natsu's arm falling down into his lap. Natsu tensed, feeling like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment. A slight red colour splashed its way over the iron slayer's cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Natsu quickly pulled his hand back.   
"I'm sorry" he mumbled, fiddling with the end of his scarf.   
"Give me your hand" Gajeel demanded.   
"W-what?" he asked. The black haired man didn't wait any longer, grabbing Natsu's wrist and pulling it forward into their gazes. The small dragon wings were still on the back of his hand but they weren't small anymore. The wings were a lot bigger now, stretching up and folding in slightly while what looked like the bud of a flower sat in the middle of the wings.   
"It's different" Natsu mumbled.   
"When did it change?" he asked.   
"What?" the fire slayer asked, looking at his fellow dragon slayer with bewilderment.   
"When did it change" Gajeel repeated.   
"I don't know but I felt a strange tingling feeling a few minutes ago" the fire slayer responded, rubbing one hand over his currently occupied arm. Gajeel's studded eyebrows furrowed, his face moving into one of thought. Natsu leaned forward slightly, desperately wanting to know what the iron slayer was thinking. Before he could ask though, the iron slayer wiped around and leaned forward, noses brushing against each other with how close they were. The fire dragon's mouth went dry and his heart felt ready to explode out of his chest as he looked into the crimson eyes of the taller man in front of him.   
"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to calm the heat rushing to his face.   
"Experiment" Gajeel stated. Before Natsu could ask what he meant, their lips were joined together. The fire slayer's heart sped up. The contact felt nice, the feeling of Gajeel's chapped lips against his own. The tingling feeling in his hand returned again but he chose to ignore it, to involved in the moment. He reached up his hands to put them behind the iron slayer's head but he pulled away before he could. One arm was brought up to his mouth and wiped against his lips.   
"There. All done. You don't need to do anything like that with me again just show me your hand" Gajeel grumbled, holding out his own hand. And the emotional high that Natsu was on crashed down around him. It was just some experiment. It hadn't been meaningful or anything. Just some stupid experiment for the other slayer. Natsu watched the iron slayer as he examined his hand. The silver dragon wings had gotten larger and wrapped around an almost fully blossomed red rose. Gajeel looked at it for a few seconds with pursed lips.   
"Wait. You like me?" he asked with clear confusion. Natsu snapped his hand back, feeling the tears in his eyes.   
"You're a dick" he hissed.   
"Your crying?" Gajeel asked, still not knowing what was going and kept saying the wrong things.   
"Yeah because you used me. You kissed me and it was just for your little experiment. Not heartfelt at all" Natsu cried out, the tears running down his cheeks as he stood up.   
"Wait. Hold on" Gajeel tried to stand as well but the chain prevented him from standing.   
"Now I see why you don't have any friends. Your a dick. You only care about yourself" Natsu spat, storming over to the door.  
"Salamander. Wait" Gajeel protested.   
"I don't want to talk with you right now. Maybe not ever" Natsu grumbled.  
"Na-" the door was slammed shut and the fire slayer was gone.   
"-tsu" Gajeel finished but he had no idea if the fire slayer had heard since he didn't come back in. The iron slayer sat in silence for a few minutes before slapping himself.   
"Dammit. I messed up. He actually wanted to be around me and I messed up" he grumbled to himself, falling backwards on the mattress. His shoulders slumped down and his tough shell shattered. If you hadn't known him as the feared kurogane then you would probably mistake him for some depressed teen. He lifted his hands up over his face.  
"Guess its better this way. I would have fucked up anyway. I'm a mess" he growled at himself, one hand slipping off his face and laying next to him.  
"Maybe I should have died that day" he adds, eyes falling shut.


	7. Chapter 7

Natsu arrived back at the guild, feeling a lot calmer after fighting against Jellal and his companions. He had also gotten a couple days to think about what had happened with Gajeel about a week ago. The fire slayer walked past the rest of his team who were happily welcoming Juvia into the guild and instead walked over to the bar where Mira was drying a glass. She looked up, showing her usual bright smile.   
"Hello Natsu. Welcome back" she greeted with her usual optimistic tone.   
"How has Gajeel been?" the pinkette asked, cutting straight to the chase instead of beating around the bush. Mira's smile fades as she looks at Natsu.   
"What do you mean? Didn't you get someone to watch over him before you left?" she asked. The fire slayer's mouth went dry. He had forgotten to ask Mira or someone else in the guild to bring food and water to the iron slayer while he was away. He had been so upset that he buried any thought of the iron slayer. He bit his lip.   
"Never mind. I'm just gonna go check on him. You got any cooked food that I could put some metal in? Some water too" he asked. Despite wanting to check on the iron slayer, he knew that he would have to get something for him to eat and drink. The white haired bartender walked into the kitchen, disappearing from Natsu's view for a second before bringing back a tray with food which already had metal mixed in and a glass of water. Natsu took the tray and despite his impulses, slowly walked over to the door of the small room. He pushed the door open with one hand. Before even stepping into the room he felt like he was going to throw up. His nose scrunched at the awful bitter and metallic smells that he was unable to properly distinguish due to the clashing scents. When he finally entered the room, he bent down and lit the candle, lifting it in his free hand while placing the tray down. When he looked around the room, he almost dropped the candle as the other hand flew up to his mouth, just barely preventing the vomit that rose in his mouth. The fire slayer swallowed the bitter substance back down, a chill being sent down his spine at the disgusting feeling. His eyes turned back to the middle of the room where the iron slayer was. The slayer had very clearly passed out since he was still in a sitting position with his fangs still dug into his arm. Dried blood coated both the arm positioned on his knees and the arm that lay limp next to him. His face was hidden so he couldn't see if there was any damage there however the torn bits of skin, blood and bile that was on the ground, mattress and sheet would probably describe otherwise. Natsu felt a pang of guilt before a thought came to him. Was Gajeel only doing this for attention and sympathy? It was entirely possible that the iron slayer could easily resort to cheep tactics to get the other slayer to like him again. Only one way to find out. Doing his best to avoid the mess, Natsu knelt down on the mattress and gently shook his fellow dragon slayer's shoulder. This got a reaction out of him but not the kind he was hoping for. Instead of lifting his head to look at who was in front of him, he proceeded to dig his teeth deeper into his arm, drawing fresh blood while simultaneously shaking violently.  
"Gajeel? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" The fire slayer asked. This time he got the preferred reaction. The slayer lifted up his head to face him although his sharp teeth were covered in blood and vomit.   
"Why are you here?" he asked hoarsely, voice clearly dry.   
"Oh. I brought food and water. Its over at the door though so I'd have to go over and get it" he explained, pointing over to the tray that he'd left at the door.   
"Don't want it. Not hungry" Gajeel croaked, placing his chin on the arm he'd been biting prior.   
"What? But.... You haven't eaten in like a week" Natsu objected, looking down at his hands with confusion. He looked back up.   
"Why were you biting yourself?" he added. The iron slayer didn't respond, turning away from the fire slayer.   
"Gajeel?" Natsu asked.   
"I...... After you ran off and didn't come back for ages........ I thought I was being punished or you had chosen to just leave me to die" he mumbled. Natsu opened his mouth but was cut off from saying anything when Gajeel jumped in again.   
"I was an idiot and I deserved the punishment anyway. I fucked up hard" he added on.   
"Yeah you were a bit of a douche but I'm kind of at fault too" Natsu objected.   
"How? You didn't do anything but get mad at my idiocy" Gajeel argued.  
"Because I got so mad that when I was given the choice to go on a holiday, I didn't think that I should leave someone to watch over you, I just left" the fire slayer explained.  
"Isn't that how it works?" the dark haired male asked, looking puzzled. That hit hard. Gajeel thought that being locked up and left without food or water was a normal punishment for something so minor as upsetting someone else's feelings.   
"Where did you learn that?" he asked. Gajeel bit his lip.   
"Whoever taught you that was wrong. That's..... That's psychotic. You shouldn't lock someone up because of a small issue so that they will starve and become dehydrated" Natsu argued. He quickly stood, almost tripping over his own feet. He walked over to the tray before bringing it back over to Gajeel. He stared at it then up at Natsu. When he knew he was clear to eat it, he scarfed every single bit down and guzzled the water. When finished, he turned to Natsu. Without warning, he leaned in and gave a quick peck to his lips. The fire slayer was stunned while Gajeel turned to the side, a red hue climbing across his cheeks and nose.   
"That one was genuine" he muttered. Natsu smiled and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on the slayer's cheek. The iron slayer looked towards Natsu.   
"I forgive you. In fact. If you want, I can ask gramps if you can join the guild" he offered.   
"You would do that?" Gajeel asked.   
"Well. Fellow slayers should stick together right?" he smiled. Gajeel nodded slightly.  
"By the way, you need a wash. You stink" Natsu teased. Gajeel gave him a playful push.   
"I've been locked up in a dark room with no shirt, no shoes, torn trousers and no access to cleaning my teeth or anything for the past like month or something. Cut me some slack" he laughed. Natsu laughed alongside him, happy to see a happier, more playful side of the dragon slayer.


	8. Chapter 8

"So, let me repeat myself. Why is it that you want to join Fairy tail" the guild master asked, sitting at his desk. Natsu stood at the door, fiddling with the end of his scarf. He had talked to the master and after a heavy amount of _persuasion_ from the fire dragon, the master agreed to at least talk to the other dragon slayer about the topic. The iron dragon slayer had been brought up to the master's office early that morning before anyone was in the guild to avoid any issues before the process was complete, if it were to go ahead. However, the condition of the master seeing him was he be chained to the floor encase of any angering incidents. Gajeel bit his lip, shifting his shoulders slightly which was followed with a loud clunking sound from the chains as they hit against the ground.   
"Well?" the master tempted, clearly wanting a response from the dragon slayer.  
"Does he need a reason?" Natsu piped up. Both males turned to look at him, Gajeel shaking his head and waving his hands in front of his neck, the chains clashing together loudly.   
"What's this Natsu?" the guild master insisted, white eyebrows arched with curiosity. Pink spread across the slayer's cheeks when he realized the situation he'd gotten himself into.  
"Well...... Wouldn't it benefit the guild having 2 dragon slayers instead of one" he suggested, shuffling his feet. Makarov arched a single eyebrow further.   
"And....And... And he really wants to make up for what he did. Right Gajeel?" Natsu added, fumbling about nervously. Gajeel nodded. He felt like a kid who's parents were deciding how hard they should punish them. The master sighed before turning to the two.   
"Alright.."   
"Yes" he was cut off by Natsu who jumped up happily with his arms in the air.   
"But there will be conditions to this" he added and the fire slayer's smile formed into a pout. "First rule. You are to keep those magic concealing cuffs on at all times unless told otherwise or given permission to take them off by Natsu" he started before turning to Natsu.   
"That doesn't mean you are allowed to take them off whenever you want Natsu. He is only to have them taken off in battle when deemed necessary for self-defense. If he can defend himself fine without it then they stay on and if you are with anyone else, all of you have to agree on removing the cuffs" he explained to the pinkette who turned his gaze down to his feet.  
"Yes gramps" he mumbled, shuffling his feet about.  
"Rule 2. You are not to leave the confounds of this guild without another member with you. That means no solo jobs and you will have to stay with another guild member" he explained. Gajeel sighed but agreed. The master reached into his drawer and pulled out a stamp.   
"We will have to remove your phantom lord guild mark first. It would complicate things if you had two guild marks" he explained. The iron slayer shrugged.   
"Go ahead. I don't care" he mumbled. The guild mark was easily removed, almost melting away.   
"Do you have a preference on location and colour?"   
"Same spot........and.........black" he muttered although the other two in the room still heard him. The stamp was pressed against his shoulder, leaving a new guild mark in its place.  
"Alright. Let's go down to the main hall. About time everyone officially met their new guild-mate" the master explained, walking over to the door of his office. When the 3 reached the downstairs, Makarov quickly gathered their attention.   
"Everyone. I want you to meet your new guild-mate G-"   
"Gajeel!" he was cut off by someone yelling followed by them running and tackling the iron slayer mentioned.   
"Woah. Raindrop. Calm your shit" Gajeel grumbled, stumbling back at the sudden force. A growl formed in Natsu's throat at the sight of the rain mage crying her eyes out with her arms wrapped around the iron slayer's waist.   
"Juvia thought Gajeel was dead. All the papers said Gajeel was missing and Gajeel couldn't find him anywhere" Juvia cried, tightening her grip on his waist.   
"Okay. I get it. Now let go of me before you squeeze my waist so tight that you break my lower ribs or somethin'" he grumbled, petting the blue haired mage's head. Everyone slowly went back to doing their own thing, pretending not to care about their new member. Natsu quickly ran over to his friends who sat at a table.   
"Isn't this great?" he smiled.   
"Great? How can we even trust him after he severely injured Lucy, Reedus, Jet, Droy, Loke and Levy? He could have killed all of them. He's a monster" Erza countered, counting off everyone who had been hurt during the battle.   
"But....... he won't do that again" Natsu countered. The group kept arguing about the topic, all of which was completely within earshot of the iron dragon slayer who had resigned himself to a dark corner where he wouldn't get as many people staring at him. He sat at the table, listening in to any mention of his name which was always proceeded or followed by a string of hate towards the slayer. Not like he expected much else. He should have just stayed in the stupid room with chains. Then at least he wouldn't have to feel like he was back in the cupboard, locked away from the outside world, listening to things be thrown about and hateful words about him passed from mouth to mouth. The dark shadows that surrounded him didn't help that feeling. It didn't take long for someone to grab his arm and start dragging him towards the entrance of the guild, no one even batting an eye.   
"Move it before someone figures out what's going on" someone snapped.   
"I would have gone if you just asked" Gajeel grumbled, following along with the two males who were still steering him towards the door, with a nervous blue head behind them, looking around. On the other side of town, a very muscular male with spiky blond hair had just returned to town, his demeanor easily scaring anyone he passed. In his hand was a slightly crumbled newspaper clipping that featured the headline, 'Famous phantom lord dragon slayer missing after fight with Fairy tail' along with a photo of said dragon slayer below it. The man looked back at the article. It was bothersome that the iron dragon slayer was missing but that wouldn't be a problem for him. After he became guild master, he would search for the slayer and recruit him. After all, he knew how to frighten the public just by looking at them a certain way and that would benefit his new Fairy Tail.


	9. Chapter 9

"So what do ya want from me anyway?" the iron slayer grumbled, standing with his back facing the large tree that sat in the middle of Magnolia park.  
"Take a guess" the ginger haired male spat, eyes narrowing on the taller male. Gajeel shrugged, keeping a completely straight face.   
"What? Can't take us seriously cause you think we're weak" the black haired man baited, waiting for the iron slayer to make the first move.   
"Guys. Please stop. Its not like he's going to do it again" the bluenette piped up, standing behind them with her hands held close to her chest.   
"If there isn't any importance to this, I'm going back to the guild hall" he stated plainly, going to walk past him. The two smaller men weren't having it. They grabbed onto the long haired man's shoulders and pushed him into the tree with as much force as they could manage. Gajeel's head left a small dent in the tree when it bounced back from the force of being pushed into the tree. He raised a hand and gently rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the tree.   
"Guys. We really should just let him go. You're going to make him angry" the little bluenette objected to her team's behavior.   
"Like he can do anything with those magic proof cuffs on" the lean orange haired man growled, getting right into Gajeel's face.  
"Yeah Jet's right and besides, he deserves it for what he did to us" the other man agreed, shoving his hand into his pocket, rummaging about in it.  
"Maybe you should stand down" Gajeel growled, both hands hanging down again. He had still to lay a hand on the two men who were clearly trying to antagonize him.   
"What's wrong? Too up your own ass to notice the little guys" Jet snapped.  
"Yeah" his friend agreed.   
"Jet, Droy, please stop" the small girl begged.   
"You should listen to the shrimp" Gajeel grumbled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his baggy trousers.   
"Is that a threat" Jet hissed, his hand curling into a fist. The iron slayer looked to the side, hair falling over his shoulder and into his eye. There was no one else around for no apparent reason. They could get away with beating him up because who would believe him, the guy who hurt people in the guild. Before he could turn back, he got a punch in the gut that left small thorns protruding from the skin. He pulled one out, looking at the blood stained thorn that had been forced into his stomach.   
"That's a warning" Droy spat, a green knuckle made out of plants that was covered in thorns disappearing into the ground from where it came.  
"I'm not tryin' to pick a fight. Just leave me alone" the tall man grumbled, once again attempting to walk past the two. Instead he was kicked to the ground which was followed by something sharp being forced into his back just a little way off from his spine. Unbeknownst to the small group, a rather muscular blond was standing just a distance away, watching the one sided fight between the three men. It surprised him considering he'd thought that the infamous Kurogane had been considered missing and then here he was with the Fairy tail insignia in a bold black upon his shoulder. In all honesty, the iron slayer was a lot better looking in person in his opinion than the photos from sorcerer weekly made him out to be. The long dark hair looked a lot softer in person while in his photos, it looked as if were like a thorny bush. A slight heat was rising to the blond's face at the sight of the iron slayer. It didn't take long for the two men who were clearly trying to either kill the slayer or severely wound him to notice the blond.   
"Laxus?" the orange haired man asked, looking up from his position on the iron slayer's back. He quickly scrambled off when the blond walked forward. The iron slayer was getting to his feet, crimson running down his back and chest from what looked to be a massive thorn that had been discarded to the side. The dragon slayer looked at the taller man in front of him which was a feat considering how tall the iron slayer was himself. Laxus looked down at the iron slayer. He could leave it alone but then what would happen to his reputation. He would have to pretend to be pissed off at the iron slayer for now and he could give an apology later. The iron slayer was one of the few people that he wanted to like him. He took a strong grip on the neck of Gajeel's shirt, lifting him up the remaining few inches so that they were face to face. Grey on red. Small sparks of electricity coated his arm before a burst of it hit the iron dragon slayer who screamed out in pain, legs thrashing although it wasn't clear if it was from the electricity or an attempt to free himself. The lightning mage stopped for a split second before sending another, larger burst of electricity through his arm and into the iron slayer. In response, the black haired man bit down on Laxus' hand, teeth sinking deep into soft skin and drawing scarlet. Laxus let go of the dragon slayer who fell to the ground, realizing his own hold of the mage's hand which had an obvious bite mark, skin torn and blood oozing over his hand. He looked at the iron slayer who was gulping for air. The lightning mage closed his fist sending a bolt of lightning down on the iron slayer, receiving an even louder scream of pain from him. He walked over, standing over him for a second, hesitating before slamming his boot down on the iron slayer with more electricity coursing through the dragon slayer. Before he could do anything else, he was pushed back by someone. It took him a few seconds to process that he'd been pushed away from the iron slayer but once he had, he looked at the culprit. A familiar mess of pink noted him to who it was instantly.   
"Leave him alone" the fire slayer snarled, standing protectively in front of his fellow dragon slayer. Gajeel himself wasn't registering what was happening properly, panting both loudly and heavily to the point where it was completely obvious to see the man's heaving chest even behind the large nest of hair. Sparks of electricity were still crackling off his body, clearly causing pain by the way the iron slayer's face was scrunched up. When the fire slayer was sure that no one else was going to go for the iron slayer, he turned around and bent down, moving locks of black out of the crimson eyes that looked up towards the dragon slayer. Natsu helped the iron slayer up, ignoring the small sparks that struck his own skin.   
"You alright?" he asked.   
"Yeah......just give me......5........hours" he mumbled, falling forward and hitting the ground unconscious. The lightning mage had seen enough. He turned around and walked away from the park. Natsu's closeness couldn't be a coincidence. He liked the iron slayer and Laxus wasn't going to have that. He was going to rid the world of the fire slayer and then he would have the iron slayer to himself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Laxus this chapter sadly. Just some nice fluff. But he'll be back. I promise

When the Iron slayer finally came around, he had an old blanket draped over him. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the sea-foam fabric that was covering him. He sat up slightly only to fall onto the ground with a thud. He groaned when it made all his muscles cry in pain.  
"You're awake. I'm glad. I was worried when you passed out in the middle of the park" someone explained, kneeling in front of him. He turned to look, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep out of them. When he could properly focus without feeling like he needed to keep his eyes closed, he could recognize the pink haired mage.  
"Where am I?" he asked, looking around the cabin that smelt like the woods.   
"My house. Gramps did say you would be staying with me" he explained. Gajeel looked over at a blue and white cat that was in the middle of eating a fish but had stopped to stare at him. The fire slayer noticed that Gajeel's gaze had focused on his partner.   
"Oh. That's Happy. My partner. I don't think the two of you have been introduced officially" Natsu states with a smile. Happy didn't say anything just went back to eating his fish.   
"Here. We need to deal with those injuries you have. I wanted to wait until you woke up to deal with them" he explains, running over to the apple coloured couch. He quickly brushed all the different fabrics onto the floor and dumped the dirty dishes on the already cluttered table. Gajeel slowly staggered to his feet, face scrunching up when it sent sharp pains through his muscles.   
"You need help?" the fire slayer asks, straightening his posture. The iron slayer grumbled under his breath, dropping himself heavily onto the couch and slinging on arm over his forehead while grunting from the force that was applied to his wounds.  
"Do those injuries hurt?" Natsu asks, sitting down on the couch next to the other slayer.   
"Not so much the wounds as just my entire body" he grumbled, letting out a heavy breath. The fire user gave him a confused look.   
"I use Iron. Lightning doesn't bode well with me. Its a pain in my ass if anything" he explains, sitting up slightly.   
"I need to see your wounds. I don't want them getting infected" Natsu explained. The iron slayer grunted but obliged, pulling off the dark navy shirt and placing it over the back of the couch.   
"D'ya have a hair tie ling around in this mess by any chance?" he asks.  
"A..... a what?" Natsu asks, not so much not knowing what the other was talking about but more so being flustered. Gajeel gestures to his main of hair.   
"O-oh. Right. Ummm...."   
"Here's one" Happy pipes in, holding a red coloured hair tie that he'd found lying amongst everything that was in the room. The iron slayer takes it, tying up his mane of hair into a high ponytail. Some loose strands that fell out of his hair fell into his face or brushed over his shoulders. Pink flushed the fire dragon slayer's face, matching his pink hair. He shook his head to focus, taking the small first aid kit that Happy handed him. The iron slayer turned, his back facing the fire slayer. When Natsu looked up from getting out the iodine and cotton pads, he was a little caught of guard. He'd never seen the other slayer's back before and if he did, he hadn't focused on it. However now that he didn't have any choice but to do so he noticed a sharp scar running from his shoulder blades to just above his lower back. Fingers traced over the damaged skin, sending a chill down the iron slayer's spine.   
"What ya doin'?" he asked, looking over his shoulder slightly.   
"Where did you get this scar from?" Natsu asks, staring at it.   
"It ain't that interesting" he sighed, looking forward.   
"I'm interested" the fire mage objected.  
"I got thrown out the window of the apartment of a friend's friend. She got pissed about something that I can't remember for the life of me and threw me out the window" he explained. Natsu's eyes widened.   
"Granted I was a pretty scrawny kid at the time so it makes sense why she was able to just throw me like that. Didn't have much muscle and definitely didn't have the height. Didn't get my this tall till I was like 15 or somethin'" he adds with a shrug.   
"W-what?" the pinkette stuttered. This caught the other male's attention. "There is so much wrong here but first what do you mean you were scrawny. H-how could you possibly be scrawny?" Natsu seemed to be completely lost. Gajeel turned around to face the fire slayer.   
"When ya spend quite a long time on the street like I did, you don't exactly get good meals. I didn't get decent meals till I was 16 and that was cause Totumaru and Juvia wouldn't stop nagging me till I ate decently after they found out how little I ate. Didn't listen till they threatened to take me to a hospital and told me that it was affecting my performance in a fight" he explained, flexing his fingers to make them hurt less.  
"So the window thing" Natsu prompted.   
"Yeah. Like I said, I can't remember what it was that I did, just that I pissed this girl off so much that she proceeded to throw me out the window. The scar was from a shard of glass that got stuck in my back" he explains.  
"And it scarred over how?"   
"Didn't realize there was glass in my back and left it there. Thought the pain was just from the fall. Didn't get it healed until nearly 2 weeks later when I was on a job with Juvia and Totumaru. They noticed how I was reacting when ever slight pressure was put on my back. Turns out the wound had gotten infected and that's why I had been feeling like shit for a few days" he sighs, scratching the side of his neck. He was taken off guard by the fire slayer wrapping his arms around his waist.   
"W-wha-" he didn't finish the sentence, gently placing a hand on the pink hair of his partner, feeling the softness of it. He was brought out of the moment by the blue and white cat snickering on the table.   
"Say anything to anyone about this and I'll hit a with my boot" he threatened.   
"Don't threaten Happy" Natsu objected.   
"Well then he better stay quiet" Gajeel stated, glaring at the small cat who was hugging his tail and nodding quickly.


	11. Chapter 11

When the Iron slayer finally came around, he had an old blanket draped over him. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the sea-foam fabric that was covering him. He sat up slightly only to fall onto the ground with a thud. He groaned when it made all his muscles cry in pain.  
"You're awake. I'm glad. I was worried when you passed out in the middle of the park" someone explained, kneeling in front of him. He turned to look, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep out of them. When he could properly focus without feeling like he needed to keep his eyes closed, he could recognize the pink haired mage.  
"Where am I?" he asked, looking around the cabin that smelt like the woods.   
"My house. Gramps did say you would be staying with me" he explained. Gajeel looked over at a blue and white cat that was in the middle of eating a fish but had stopped to stare at him. The fire slayer noticed that Gajeel's gaze had focused on his partner.   
"Oh. That's Happy. My partner. I don't think the two of you have been introduced officially" Natsu states with a smile. Happy didn't say anything just went back to eating his fish.   
"Here. We need to deal with those injuries you have. I wanted to wait until you woke up to deal with them" he explains, running over to the apple coloured couch. He quickly brushed all the different fabrics onto the floor and dumped the dirty dishes on the already cluttered table. Gajeel slowly staggered to his feet, face scrunching up when it sent sharp pains through his muscles.   
"You need help?" the fire slayer asks, straightening his posture. The iron slayer grumbled under his breath, dropping himself heavily onto the couch and slinging on arm over his forehead while grunting from the force that was applied to his wounds.  
"Do those injuries hurt?" Natsu asks, sitting down on the couch next to the other slayer.   
"Not so much the wounds as just my entire body" he grumbled, letting out a heavy breath. The fire user gave him a confused look.   
"I use Iron. Lightning doesn't bode well with me. Its a pain in my ass if anything" he explains, sitting up slightly.   
"I need to see your wounds. I don't want them getting infected" Natsu explained. The iron slayer grunted but obliged, pulling off the dark navy shirt and placing it over the back of the couch.   
"D'ya have a hair tie ling around in this mess by any chance?" he asks.  
"A..... a what?" Natsu asks, not so much not knowing what the other was talking about but more so being flustered. Gajeel gestures to his main of hair.   
"O-oh. Right. Ummm...."   
"Here's one" Happy pipes in, holding a red coloured hair tie that he'd found lying amongst everything that was in the room. The iron slayer takes it, tying up his mane of hair into a high ponytail. Some loose strands that fell out of his hair fell into his face or brushed over his shoulders. Pink flushed the fire dragon slayer's face, matching his pink hair. He shook his head to focus, taking the small first aid kit that Happy handed him. The iron slayer turned, his back facing the fire slayer. When Natsu looked up from getting out the iodine and cotton pads, he was a little caught of guard. He'd never seen the other slayer's back before and if he did, he hadn't focused on it. However now that he didn't have any choice but to do so he noticed a sharp scar running from his shoulder blades to just above his lower back. Fingers traced over the damaged skin, sending a chill down the iron slayer's spine.   
"What ya doin'?" he asked, looking over his shoulder slightly.   
"Where did you get this scar from?" Natsu asks, staring at it.   
"It ain't that interesting" he sighed, looking forward.   
"I'm interested" the fire mage objected.  
"I got thrown out the window of the apartment of a friend's friend. She got pissed about something that I can't remember for the life of me and threw me out the window" he explained. Natsu's eyes widened.   
"Granted I was a pretty scrawny kid at the time so it makes sense why she was able to just throw me like that. Didn't have much muscle and definitely didn't have the height. Didn't get my this tall till I was like 15 or somethin'" he adds with a shrug.   
"W-what?" the pinkette stuttered. This caught the other male's attention. "There is so much wrong here but first what do you mean you were scrawny. H-how could you possibly be scrawny?" Natsu seemed to be completely lost. Gajeel turned around to face the fire slayer.   
"When ya spend quite a long time on the street like I did, you don't exactly get good meals. I didn't get decent meals till I was 16 and that was cause Totumaru and Juvia wouldn't stop nagging me till I ate decently after they found out how little I ate. Didn't listen till they threatened to take me to a hospital and told me that it was affecting my performance in a fight" he explained, flexing his fingers to make them hurt less.  
"So the window thing" Natsu prompted.   
"Yeah. Like I said, I can't remember what it was that I did, just that I pissed this girl off so much that she proceeded to throw me out the window. The scar was from a shard of glass that got stuck in my back" he explains.  
"And it scarred over how?"   
"Didn't realize there was glass in my back and left it there. Thought the pain was just from the fall. Didn't get it healed until nearly 2 weeks later when I was on a job with Juvia and Totumaru. They noticed how I was reacting when ever slight pressure was put on my back. Turns out the wound had gotten infected and that's why I had been feeling like shit for a few days" he sighs, scratching the side of his neck. He was taken off guard by the fire slayer wrapping his arms around his waist.   
"W-wha-" he didn't finish the sentence, gently placing a hand on the pink hair of his partner, feeling the softness of it. He was brought out of the moment by the blue and white cat snickering on the table.   
"Say anything to anyone about this and I'll hit a with my boot" he threatened.   
"Don't threaten Happy" Natsu objected.   
"Well then he better stay quiet" Gajeel stated, glaring at the small cat who was hugging his tail and nodding quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again no Laxus but he should be in the next chapter which might be coming sooner than expected. That means. I might just write another chapter today because I'm bored and have practically the entire plot of this book mind written out. And trust me. There's a lot to work with. Plus I'm loving this Au. Its rare that I write for such a minor pairing. Let alone a pairing that I don't usually ship. I'm a huge fan of Gale, Nalu, Miraxus and Kinabra but I like reading about rare pairs or OTPs more often than I read about other couples. So I guess I'm a multishipper then. Oh well. Not a bother to me. Also Now I'm ranting. Sorry about that.


	12. Chapter 12

Angry was an understatement for the fire slayer. He was pissed. Not only did Laxus hurt the entire guild but he also beat up his partner. He could tell when the other dragon slayer had something on his mind. He wouldn't act himself. He would be quiet, eyes unfocused every so often or focused on one single thing for far too long. This was one of those times. Laxus was going to pay for what he did. It had taken a lot of self restraint not to punch the lightning mage in his jaw so he could get a look of shock plastered on his smug face. Now he was finally getting that chance. He would have to thank Levy for it later. Gajeel had insisted on going to battle Laxus, refusing to leave it to Natsu. They had split off and gone in separate directions. The fire slayer was heading to the cathedral now, black sandals slapping against the heels of his feet with each step. He could hear his breathing which was shallower from the running and the smack of each step against the stone Street. When the dragon slayer reached the cathedral, there were already two other people there. Erza and Mystogan. The blue haired mage who looked surprisingly similar to that guy from the tower of heaven, turned to face Natsu before running out of the cathedral, saying something about leaving the fight to them.  
"Alright that's it Laxus. I'm here to fight" Natsu growled, small embers fluttering out from the palms of his hands. The comment went unnoticed by the lightning mage who once again went to focus his attention on the other s-class mage.   
"Hey. Are you even listening to me?" he growled out again after a few minutes of being ignored. The lightning mage lazily turned his head to look at the fire slayer.   
"Oh. You're here. Didn't even notice you" he stated with a smirk on his face.  
"Natsu, what are you doing here?" the scarlet haired requip mage asked, hair whipping the sides of her face when she turned to face him.   
"Laxus put these orbs around the city and is holding the town hostage" the pink haired mage stated.   
"Then why don't you destroy them" Erza snapped.  
"Because if I destroy them then I'll just get zapped right back" he countered. The s-class mage turned on Laxus, yelling at him. She then turned to leave.   
"Where are you going?" he called.   
"To destroy those lacrima. You fight Laxus" she ordered before continuing to run, any protest from Laxus being ignored.   
"That's great. I can finally get back at you for that stunt you pulled in the park the other day" Natsu stated, cracking his knuckles. A smirk spread over the lightning mage's face.   
"Good luck beating me. I'm going to pound your head into the ground until you meet an early grave" he chuckled, fists sparking with lightning. The fire slayer wasn't having it. He rushed forward, fist coating in fire. He aimed a punch at the lightning mage who merely dodged, lifting up his leg and kicking the fire slayer into the ground. Natsu got up, a few small bits of marble falling from his hair.   
"What's your deal?" he hissed out through gritted teeth.   
"What's wrong? Don't like what I'm doing. Well then its a good thing you won't be around to see it" he laughed, sending a bolt of lightning at the younger mage who skid back across the scuffed marble.   
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, running forward again with a kick aimed at the lightning slayer's head who grabbed his foot and tossed him across the ground.   
"I would have kept you around since you used to be the only dragon trained dragon slayer but now you're just in the way" he stated with the same smirk plastered on his face. Natsu stood up.   
"Leave Gajeel alone!" he yelled, explosive anger building up inside him. He didn't get a response. Only a smirk. The fire mage ran forward, this time getting a punch in at Laxus' face. The stronger mage grabbed his hand, punching him in the face with lightning covering his fist. This went back and forth until he kicked Natsu back into the middle of the cathedral.  
"I'm done playing around. Time to finish you for good" he growled, a massive amount of energy being sent down on the dragon slayer. When the light cleared, all that could be seen was smoke rising from the ground with a dark burn mark on the ground. This got a loud, deep laugh from the lightning dragon slayer.   
"Goodbye Natsu. You won't get in my way anymore" he laughed.   
"You shouldn't be so hasty to kill people ya know" someone scolded. The lightning mage turned up. Holding onto one the banister that sat in front of one window in the cathedral was the iron slayer. Clutched in his other hand was the waist band of Natsu's trousers and belt. The fire slayer himself was a little dazed but otherwise unharmed. The same couldn't be said for the iron slayer who's arm was sparking with electricity. He let go of the banister, dropping down to the floor where he dropped the fire slayer.   
"What?" Laxus asked in bewilderment.   
"You'll only regret killing those people later. It ain't all sunshine and rainbows when you go around killin' people" he states, his undamaged arm, rubbing slight over the sparking arm, the muscles jolting involuntarily with each spark.  
"You shouldn't be here. This is my fight" Natsu stated.   
"First, I'm the one he beat up. Not you. You're acting like it was you he hurt. Second. If I hadn't shown up when I did then you'd be dead" the iron slayer states. Natsu crossed his arms.   
"I just don't want you getting hurt again" he mumbled. A growl coming from the blond mage was the response to that.   
"Redfox. Stay out of this. Natsu will be out of both our hairs soon enough" the lightning mage ordered.   
"Why does everyone think they can just boss me around. I ain't some little kid who will listen to what ya tell me" the black haired man spat, getting annoyed at everyone telling him what fights he can and can't get involved in. He ran forward, ready to turn his arm into a sword only for it not to work. It took the tall male a second to remember that he still had the cuffs locked around his wrists.   
"Oh shit" he hissed out before being kicked to the side by Laxus who had coated himself in lightning for the attack. The iron slayer slammed head first against the ground, sliding across the ground for a few seconds before stopping.   
"Gajeel!" Natsu yelled, ready to run over to the iron slayer who had stopped moving altogether, his dark hair shrouding his face from the view of the other two men. At this point, both Freed and Levy had arrived, yelling at the lightning mage to stop before it was too late.  
"Don't worry about him. I'll make sure he's fine. You won't be so lucky" Laxus chuckled, ignoring the other two mages that had arrived. He charged up a high voltage attack in his hand before letting it loose down on Natsu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter. I might actually do 1 or 2 more chapters before I go to sleep because why not.


	13. Chapter 13

The lightning crashed down harshly, sparks flying all throughout the large building. Everyone who was in range of the attack had no choice but to block their eyes from the bright light.   
"Natsu!" the bluenette yelled, covering her mouth in shock. When most of the flashing light had cleared, smoke replaced it in the air which brought with it a strong metallic scent. The smoke's origin was in fact from the iron slayer who was perched over the fire dragon slayer. The fire slayer opened his eyes which had previously been squeezed shut. Gajeel, who now resembled a dragon more than an actual human was scanning the area in front of him, seemingly unfazed by the electricity still sparking off the iron scales that served as great armour. The scales themselves were mostly silver with a sliver of black at the tip of each scale although it was barely noticeable with how little it could be seen on the scales themselves.  
"What the hell?!" the lightning mage hissed out.   
"How is that possible? That should have killed him. That was a full-out dragon slayer attack" Laxus added, eyes wide at the durability of the iron slayer. A loud crack caught both slayers attention. The crack that had been inflicted by Natsu's flames was still on the grey scales that covered the iron slayer's face and this time it had spread further than the burn on the iron slayer's cheek, reaching up to at the side of his eye and spreading slightly towards his nose but just stopping short of reaching the end of his eye. The fire slayer's eyes widened. He hadn't just cracked the other slayer's armour permanently. The iron slayer, looked around before his crimson eyes rested on Laxus. The fins on his head and the almost elf like ears twitched. He quickly made his way across the marble floor, sharp claws on his hands and feet clinking against the surface. His boots, which were now torn at the toes were discarded over near a crack in the floor. Before Laxus could register what was happening, he was pinned to the floor, trident tipped tail wrapping around his left leg. The lightning slayer looked up at the deep red eyes that stared down at him. Gajeel tilted his head, his now elf, cat mixed ears pricking upwards slightly. His head tilt was followed with a lick to the lightning mage's face, piercing nearly hitting Laxus right in the eye. The blond closed one eye, drool covering a portion of his face.   
"Get off me" he ordered, trying to push the other dragon slayer off. He promptly refused, ears pointing downwards and claws digging into soft flesh. Laxus gasped at the sudden pain from how easily the sharp tips slid into the skin on his chest despite how muscular the lightning mage was.  
"What is happening right now?" Freed asked, looking between the two male's on the floor, one sitting on top of the other and Natsu who was utterly bewildered. Gajeel looked over at Natsu, ears perking up again and tail -which was no longer wrapped around Laxus' leg- wagging back and forth like an excitable puppy.   
"Gajeel?" Natsu asked, looking at the dragon slayer who tilted his head as if the name was familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Laxus pushed the iron slayer off him, gritting his teeth when some skin was torn off from his chest. He turned to Natsu, sending another Lightning attack at Natsu which was once again redirected by Gajeel. Whether it was intentional or not wasn't clear since the iron slayer no longer seemed prepared to fight. He just ran around between the two slayers, stopping every so often to look between the two.  
"If I can't use my magic then I'll just have to use brute strength" Laxus growled, grabbing Natsu and tossing him into the ground by his arm. The fire slayer clutched onto his now stinging arm, teeth grit from pain. His face was soon smashed into the ground with a foot. Laxus was knocked off the other slayer by Gajeel, who once again dug his claws into Laxus' chest, nudging his chin with the end of his muzzle. Laxus took a hold of the slightly shorter male's waist and threw him across the wall, letting the dragon slayer hit the wall and fall to the ground with a thud. He then turned to Natsu who had now gotten to his feet and promptly punched Laxus in the jaw. The lightning mage stumbled back slightly, rubbing one hand against the spot that had been hit. He then proceeded to return the action by punching Natsu square in the face. Punches and kicks were swapped, the two going back and forth until something pushed the two back from each other. Standing in the middle of them now was Gajeel, large, almost angel shaped wings spread out to keep the two apart. The dragon slayer himself was roaring softly, almost similar to singing, blood trailing down from a gap amongst his teeth. His right leg and left arm were limp and he was breathing heavily, almost as if it was a chore to stand. Both dragon slayers looked at Gajeel who still kept his wings spread out. It was then that Natsu's eyes came to notice the white bandage that had a couple small scarlet stains on it.   
"Where did you get that?" he asked although he still kept his guard. Laxus looked down at the bandage.   
"I was bit the other day. Not a big deal" he stated, also keeping his guard up.   
"Let me see" the fire slayer demanded. Laxus raised on side of his lips, eyebrows furrowed and eyes staring at the slayer with uncertainty. He slowly unwrapped the gauze. On the lightning mage's hand was a bite mark that was almost entirely covered by a mark of dragon wings surrounding a fully blossomed red rose. Just like the one on the fire slayer's hand. Natsu lifted his hand up, both dragon slayers instantly spying the similarities. They both looked at Gajeel who was now shaking on his still working leg and arm, wings falling down at his sides and brushing against the floor. Natsu bent down, brushing the dark bangs of his partner out of his face.   
"You don't want us to fight do you?" he asked. The iron slayer responded with a soft roar which was followed with a lick on Natsu's face. The iron slayer's tail lay over Laxus' shoes. He sighed, dropping his hands to his sides. The screen with the countdown for the lightning lacrima had long since lost its signal. The fight was over. Everyone could rest now from their fights knowing that the townsfolk were no longer in any harm.


	14. Chapter 14

Natsu and Laxus sat on opposite sides of the infirmary room, neither looking at the other. Laxus was the least injured out of the three. The most major injuries he sustained were the claw marks from Gajeel which he was told would scar over. Natsu had a busted up head, two broken arms and plenty of cuts scattered across his upper body although his lower body was perfectly fine. Gajeel didn't have it too lucky either. His leg and arm were broken while the other arm had been pretty badly scratched up. His head had been split open, he'd lost a tooth, sustained pretty bad injuries from all the lightning he'd taken on. He'd had trouble breathing because his lungs had been slightly damaged from the lightning and he had a pretty nasty cut that had been caused by a piece of marble. As for the crack in his armour, it was bleeding again. Porlyusica had no idea if he would be able to retain sight in that eye with how bad the crack had gotten at that point, surrounding his entire eye instead of just a small portion. Makarov wasn't in the infirmary right now. He was talking with Levy and Freed who were the only two who had witnessed the fight from an outsiders perspective.  
Natsu's gaze turned towards Gajeel who was still unconscious with a nasal cannula attached to his nose to help the slight struggle he had with breathing.   
"I didn't want to hurt him like that" Laxus sighed. The fire slayer turned towards the man. Laxus figured he'd have to elaborate.   
"I had planned on taking control of the guild but when I found out that the infamous Kurogane was part of the guild.... I guess I thought doing this would somehow impress him" he sighed, running one hand through his short locks.  
"So basically, most of your motivation was because you wanted to court my boyfriend?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.   
"First, where did you even learn what the word court is?"   
"Erza and Lucy say it a lot when talking about books. I asked Levy what it meant" Natsu huffed, feeling offended by what the lightning slayer had said.   
"Second, I didn't know he was your boyfriend. I figured out that you liked him but that was about it" he continued. A few seconds of awkward silence.  
"Well this isn't how I expected things to turn out" Natsu sighed, fiddling with a strand of his hair.   
"I can back off if that's preferable" Laxus sighed, sounding pretty hurt at the mere mention of him doing such a thing.   
"I don't know. He seemed calm like that with you. The only two times I've seen him like that, he was pretty aggressive. He was calm with me for a few seconds once and that was it" Natsu sighed, breathing heavily through his nose.  
"So this is a regular occurrence?" Laxus asked. Natsu shrugged his shoulders.   
"Hell if I know. Gajeel doesn't seem comfortable with talking about his past. I don't know if he's done this before or if its a brand new thing he only just started doing" he ranted, tugging on one end of his scarf. The lightning mage looked over at the unconscious dragon slayer.   
"How long do you think he'll be out for?" the lightning mage asks.   
"I dunno. Last two times this happened he was out for 3 days" Natsu grumbled. The door to the infirmary opened. The guild master walked in, hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers. The room quickly filled with a tense atmosphere.   
"Laxus. I have decided on what has to be done" he states. The lightning mage stands up.   
"I understand-"   
"Sit back down boy" Makarov interrupts. Laxus obeys, sitting down on the bed he'd been sitting on.  
"Due to this stunt, I'm afraid that I must withdraw your status as a member of Fairy tail" he starts.   
"But Gramps. That's not fair" Natsu objected, getting to his feet.   
"Silence!" the master demanded. He turned back to Laxus.   
"However. You will still remain here. I have been told that Gajeel was very calm around you when he...... well whatever we will call this transformation he does" Makarov explained. Both males were taken aback.   
"You will be allowed in the guild hall but no missions. And until Natsu has healed up, you will be the one in charge of keeping an eye on Gajeel" he adds.   
"But Gramps-"   
"No buts Natsu. My decision is final. Now go home and rest. I want you healed up as quickly as possible" Makarov orders. Natsu pouts but doesn't argue, slowly walking out of the infirmary room to find Happy. Makarov left soon after, leaving Laxus alone in the infirmary with the unconscious iron dragon slayer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the fighting festival arc. I know I skipped most of the battles but you all already know what happens in them so I just left them out. 
> 
> Now that the fighting is over, you know what's next. Lots of relationship development with our two tall brooding dragon boys. That'll be fun.


	15. Chapter 15

Laxus found himself waiting in the infirmary for three days while the iron slayer was unconscious. He had one ear of his headphones on, eyes closed as he listened to the music that blasted through them. A pained groan caught him off guard, dropping the lacrima which clattered to the ground while taking the headphones with it. Laxus looked over to the iron slayer who was squinting his eyes up at the light above.  
"What's going on?" he grumbled, trying to sit up in the bed he was in.   
"Try not to move too much. Porlyusica says that too much movement might open up the stitches in your stomach" Laxus explained, remembering what the old woman had told him. The iron slayer turned to look at Laxus, using his lesser damaged arm to prop himself up in the bed. He looked over the taller blond, studded eyebrows slowly furrowing in confusion. Then his eyes snapped open wider.   
"Where's Natsu?! What did ya do to him?!" he demanded, leaning forward too fast which resulted in pain. He wrapped his right arm around his abdomen in an attempt to lessen the pain.  
"He's fine. He's been sent to his house until he heals" the lightning mage explained.   
"Who knows if that would be the case if you hadn't stepped in to stop the fighting" Laxus added. That confused look returned to his face.  
"I didn't stop any fightin'" he objected. Laxus looked at the iron slayer with equal confusion.   
"How much do you remember about the fight?" the lightning slayer asks.   
"I arrived to save Natsu's ass, went to use an iron dragon sword before remembering I have these stupid cuffs on then I was thrown across the room, hit my head and blacked out" he explains. Before the lightning mage could do anything, the iron slayer was already trying to get out of bed, leaning on his left leg before finally spreading his weight across both legs. He remained upward for an approximate of two seconds before he was falling forward. Laxus caught the iron slayer before he hit the ground so that he wouldn't worsen your injuries.   
"Let go of me" he hissed although it didn't have a lot of anger behind it. "Gramps said I'm to keep an eye on you until Natsu's healed up so don't go doing that again. If you open up those stitches on my watch then your boyfriend is going to slaughter me" the lightning slayer sighs. A slight pink tint spreads across the iron slayer's face.   
"H-how did you know N-"   
"Natsu is your boyfriend? He said so a couple days ago" he interrupted. "Now, why don't you sit down so I can get you a crutch. That way we can go to my house" the blond added, looking around for a support for the iron slayer. He found a crutch, handing it to the long haired male who reluctantly took it. He stood up again, this time using the crutch to support himself on the left right side. When Laxus was sure that the Iron slayer was stable enough to walk he started walking towards the door. He held all doors open for the iron slayer, giving a cold stare to anyone who even so much as glanced the wrong way at the slightly smaller slayer.   
"I know how to handle myself ya know" the black haired mage grumbled, leaning over to the right with every step.   
"Not like that you aren't" the lightning slayer objected, gesturing to the numerous bandages and casts on the iron slayer. He snorted.   
"This is nothin'. I've dealt with way worse" he stated, seeming almost proud of that.   
"I can agree you pack quite a punch. Its not everyday someone can dig claws into your chest and leave scars" the lightning slayer chuckled. He got a confused look from the iron slayer.  
"You seriously don't remember?" he asked.   
"No, I'm just lying about not knowing about what ever the hell yer talkin' 'bout for fun and attention" Gajeel growled sarcastically.   
"Are you mad because of what I did?" the taller male asked.   
"Oh, lemme see. Am I mad that you beat me up when I had no way of fighting back, tried to kill my partner and then caused all of these injuries? Nah, I'm just pissed because the sun is too bright" he snapped with more sarcasm laced in his voice.  
"Look, I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you" the lightning slayer sighed. He received a low growl from the iron slayer. The iron slayer was eyeing him up, watching every step he took. When they reached Laxus' house, there was a slight tense atmosphere. The blond unlocked the door, allowing the iron slayer inside who proceeded to drop himself on the couch and put one hand over his head. His chest was shaking slightly.   
"Is the lacrima run out?" Laxus asked, not wanting the other slayer to be in pain from a lack of air. The iron slayer didn't respond, staying in his spot on the couch. It was quiet for a few seconds before the lightning mage walked over to his kitchen. Pots clanged together as he pulled them out of the cupboard which drew the iron slayer's attention towards him. About 20 minutes later, the mage returned with two plates of food, handing one over to the iron slayer.   
"You wasted food. I ain't hungry" he stated, leaning forward slowly so that he could put the plate on the coffee table.   
"How can you not be hungry? You haven't eaten in three days" the lightning mage objected.   
"Just ain't hungry" he mumbled back. He was still guarded like he had been but he wasn't as snappy and aggressive now that they were no longer in public.   
"Can you at least try to eat something?" Laxus tried to coax the fellow dragon slayer. The iron slayer looked at him with tired looking eyes but leaned forward to pick up the plate. He slowly ate the food, eyes staring down at the food. When Laxus had finished, Gajeel was only about halfway done with his.   
"You're calmer. Something happened or do you just like to cause scenes in public?" he stated before biting his lip after realizing what he'd said.  
"Don't feel like continuing an arguement that was pointless to begin with" he mumbled, leaning his head against the arm of the couch. That was odd. It was like his personality had done a complete 180. Then again, Gajeel might be like this all the time when alone. He'd never been alone with him before. When several minutes passed with the iron slayer no longer eating what was left on his plate, Laxus slowly took the plate from the iron slayer. He could put it away for later encase he was still hungry then. He scrapped the leftovers into a tub which he left to cool down before doing the dishes. He put away all the dishes that had been cleaned and dried before finally packing the leftover food away into the fridge. The lightning mage walked back into the living only to start panicking at what he saw or didn't see.


	16. Chapter 16

When the lightning slayer noticed that the black haired male was no longer seated on the couch.   
"Redfox?" the blond asked, walking over to the couch. He looked around, eyes locking on the bathroom door that was slightly agape. The light wasn't turned on but the lightning slayer could swear that he had left the bathroom door fully closed earlier. He sighed. It was rude to go knocking on the door but he had to make sure the iron slayer was alright. He walked up to the bathroom, hand raised to knock on the door. He froze at the sound of retching. He bit his lip. When the sound finished, he knocked on the door.   
"Redfox? Everything alright?" he asks, hand hovering over the handle of the door.   
"Ummmm yeah. Nothing's wrong. I was just washing up" the iron slayer responded, voice hoarse. Running water soon filled the empty space from the tap, followed by the toilet being flushed.  
"Do you need help with anything?" Laxus asked, his hand still hovering over the handle of the slightly open door.   
"No.... I just needed to clean up" the black haired male objects. The lightning slayer stays put for a few more seconds before heaving out a long breath. He walks over to the couch, sitting down. One hand finds itself running through his short blond locks. He squeezes his eyes shut while biting his lip. His eyes open again when the iron slayer sits down on the couch, crimson eyes staring down at his boots.  
"Redfox?" the blond asks. The man in question looks up, eyes locking onto his grey ones. It was silence for a few moments.   
"Yes?" Gajeel disrupts the silence, his rough voice strained.   
"If something's wrong..... Then you can talk to me" the older mage offers.   
The iron slayer turns his gaze away, instead focusing on the coffee table. The room is filled with silence again. Laxus sighed.   
"Redfox......... look... I'm really sorry about hurting you. I had no intention to do so but I panicked when I saw the other members of Fairy tail" he began. This brought the long haired mage's attention back to him. The way his red eyes sparkled in the dim light reminding Laxus of a cosmos flower that was shrouded behind curtains of black.  
"From the start, all I wanted was for you to join the guild after I became guild master. Not for you to be hurt" he adds, trying to keep his attention on his apology and not on his eyes. When silence filled the room again, the lightning mage bites his lip. He hadn't accepted the apology. Gajeel heaved out a breath. Laxus closed his eyes, preparing for whatever the iron slayer had to say to him.   
"Don't call me Redfox" he states. The lightning slayer opens his eyes, light eyebrows furrowing together in confusion.   
"What?" he asks, voice quiet.   
"I don't like it when people call me Redfox. It.........It just makes me uncomfortable" he explains, turning to look to the side again. The blond just stares.   
"So.....um.....Just call me by my first name" he adds, fiddling with the collar of his shirt nervously. A slight pink flushes the lightning mage's cheeks.  
"R-right. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable" he quickly explains, turning his own gaze away from the other dragon slayer.  
"Its fine. I've had it worse" he states, brushing his fingers through his hair only for them to get caught in a tangle. He curses under his breath.  
"Something wrong?" Laxus asks.   
"Just my hair. Haven't washed it in like a month and now its all tangled and greasy. I hate it" the iron slayer grumbles, looking down at a strand of black hair that had gotten caught on his fingers and been tugged out of his hair.   
"Can't you wash it now?" the lightning slayer asks before mentally slapping himself.   
"You know what. Don't answer that question" he quickly adds. The iron slayer was covered practically head to toe in bandages and casts. He wouldn't be able to take a bath or shower with the cast on his arm and leg and bending down or stretching upward with the stitches in him could lead to a scar.   
"Yeah. So I need to look like a street rat for another couple months. Not like its not happened before but its been so long that I forgot what it felt like to feel like I've been sleeping amongst bags of rubbish and rats that liked to nest in my hair" he explains with a deep sigh.  
Laxus furrowed his eyebrows.   
"Wait. Rats nested in your hair?" he asks.  
"Yeah. I've always had a lot of hair. Even when it was short as hell. Since I've always had so much, its very soft when taken care of properly" he explains.   
"Guess that makes sense. You have more hair than Freed and his hair is pretty long" the lightning mage agrees.   
"Juvia loved brushing my hair when we were kids. I never really cut it growing up, not even when I was living on the streets. Only time it ever got cut was on accident. If it had never been cut then it would probably reach down to my ankles or somethin'" Gajeel sighed, a small smile tugging at his lips at the memory of Juvia.  
"Juvia's the girl from the element four right?"   
"Yeah. She's actually the one who taught me how to care for my hair. I had no idea half of what she was talkin' 'bout. Totomaru laughed his ass off when he found out that I had no idea what the fuck Shampoo or brushes were. Pretty sure he called me a feral kid at one point too but I don't remember if he did" he laughed slightly. Laxus felt a fluttering in his chest. "Wow" he chuckled.   
"Don't know what he expected from me. I was raised by a dragon made of metal. He didn't have hair. I would just dip my head in a stream and run my fingers through my hair to clean it" he explained. Then his eyes widened.   
"I've never talked that much about my past before" he stated, voice breathy.   
"Really?" the lightning mage asked.   
"Did ya drug me with a truth drug or somethin'?" he asks.   
"No. I didn't. I guess you willingly told me all this" he objects. The iron slayer looks at his hands.  
"You know what. Its getting late. You can take my bed" the lightning mage sighed, standing up. The iron slayer didn't object, slipping his arm through the loop of the crutch and using it to limp over to the bedroom. The lightning mage helped him with removing his boot since bending over like that was forbidden by Porlyusica. Once Gajeel had settled down into the large bed, he walked over to the door, pulling it closed.   
"Don't close the door" The lightning mage turned to see the iron slayer sitting up while staring down at his feet.   
"I-i don't like closed doors" he mumbled. Laxus sighed.   
"Alright. I won't close the door" he assured Gajeel, leaving the door open halfway. He made his way over to the couch, settling down with a cushion and a simple blanket. He closed his eyes and fell asleep pretty quickly.


	17. Chapter 17

It was around 2am when the lightning slayer woke up. He pushed himself up on the couch, sleepy gaze looking over all the shapes in the room that were made unclear by the shadows cast by the low light of the moon. He reached up one hand, rubbing the sleep that irritated his eyes. Deciding that he should get a drink, he stands up and heads in the direction of the kitchen. On the way, one of the floorboards creaks and the lightning slayer swears he hears a whimper travel from his room. He glances into the room, finding nothing amiss and continuing to the kitchen. The tap is turned on, the water running for a bit to let it cool before filling up a glass with the liquid. He quickly downed the glass, placing it back in the sink before turning back around. He reached the couch, sitting back down and ready to go back to sleep when a scream from his room alerted him. He was quickly on his feet and in the doorway of the room.   
"Gajeel?" he asked, trying to see what was happening. The iron slayer was thrashing in the bed, cover tangled around his legs. The lightning slayer approached. Tears were staining his face and he kept letting out pained whimpers and barely audible pleas. Iron scales had begun spreading across his marked shoulder, reaching up to his neck and down his arm.  
"Gajeel!" the lightning mage yelled, trying to get the other slayer to wake up. The iron slayer sat up right, a roar like scream escaping his lungs and multiple knife like chunks of metal being fired in all directions of the room. An attack that Laxus barely dodged. Gajeel was holding onto his head, body trembling and weak whimpers escaping his tightly closed lips. The lightning mage had never seen the other male so vulnerable. He reached a hand out, placing it on his shoulder. The iron slayer tensed, turning his head away and letting locks of hair brush over Laxus' skin.   
"Its alright" he assures, trying not to startle the other dragon slayer. Gajeel slowly lowered his hand from his head, opting to wrap it around his waist instead. The lightning mage pulled the slayer close, leaning on the edge of the mattress and providing warmth for the other dragon slayer who felt startlingly cold. The iron slayer willingly leaned into him, head pressed against his chest and one hand reaching up to grab at his shirt. The taller male gently placed an arm on the back of his waist, large hand placed on his rib cage. The lightning slayer had to bite his lip to suppress a noise of shock. This was due to his surprise at the iron slayer's size. The man could definitely be considered muscular, not as much as Laxus but he was well toned from the look of his arms. That was miss leading though. Although not entirely noticeable, the lightning slayer could subtle feel the other dragon slayer's ribs. It made sense how one could miss it. It could be mistaken for natural and the iron slayer didn't appear to be overly skinny on first glance. Or any glance. And even then, you wouldn't see his spine clearly with his thick mane of hair constantly hanging over his entire back. Doing his best to ignore it at that moment in time, he gently rubbed his hand up and down the other slayer's back in an attempt to calm him down. It seemed to work since the shaking slowed down till it was no longer an issue. The scales that had spread from his shoulder were now disappearing and showing his tanned skin once again. The lightning slayer tried to gently lift the other slayer off him but he refused, the grip on his shirt tightening and a whimper escaping the iron slayer lips.   
"Gajeel. I need to get up" the lightning slayer protests but he isn't met with an answer.  
"Fine. I'll stay" he mutters in defeat. As to not disturb the calming dragon slayer, he slowly moves onto the bed, laying down so that he would be comfortable. When he looks at the iron slayer again, he has fallen asleep, head rested against his chest with his hair sprawled out over his back. His usual scowl was replaced with a calm expression, studded eyebrows relaxed and lips slightly parted. Laxus lifted his hands up to groan into them. Why did this have to be so fucking hard? The iron slayer shifted slightly, nose being buried into him and taking in his scent. The lightning mage could have sworn he saw one of Gajeel's ears twitch ever so slightly but in the dark it could have just been a flick of the light. He lifted one hand up, running it through the long dark locks of the other male. It was very soothing and helped as the lightning mage slowly let the tempting darkness of sleep take over.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a little later because I was doing so much this weekend with writing chapters for a mass upload to celebrate my birthday. Sorry for the slight wait.

The iron slayer was woken up by birds chirping from outside. He opens his eyes, lifting his hand up to his mouth to cover up the yawn. He takes in a deep breath and catches a scent. He quickly sits up, finding himself laying on the lightning slayer who was asleep, one arm wrapped over his waist. Heat quickly flooded the slayer's face and he tried to hide it with his hair. When the heat had faded just a little he decides to get up. His attempt was unsuccessful, instead finding himself with his face on the floor. The thud woke up the other slayer who sat up, rubbing his eyes before looking down at the other slayer who let out an irritated groan.   
"What were you trying to do?" the lightning slayer asked.   
"Get up" Gajeel mumbled. The lightning mage got to his feet, helping the other slayer up and passing him the crutch that had been out of reach.   
"How about some breakfast?" the lightning mage offers.   
"Sounds good. I'm starved" the iron slayer agrees, using the crutch to move towards the kitchen. Laxus started looking in his fridge and cupboards for anything he could cook for a breakfast. There wasn't as much as he'd thought. A few slices of bread, no cereal, no milk, some bacon and a couple eggs.  
"Any preference?" he asks. The iron slayer shrugs, leaning his head down onto the table. The lightning slayer takes the food that was in the kitchen and put the cooker on. While the food is cooking, the taller male looks towards the other mage.  
"So........ Any reason you don't like closed doors?" he asks. The iron slayer tenses and bites his lip.   
"I just don't like them" he states, turning to look at the wall and tapping his fingers on the table.   
"But why?" the lightning mage prompts.   
"Why do you not like............... something" the iron slayer counters. Laxus sighs but drops the topic.   
"Well, can you explain why you are skinnier than you let on?" he questions. The tapping of the iron slayer's fingers continues.   
"Its not a big deal. I loose weight easily. Never been the healthiest out there and iron may settle my appetite but its not the best for a balanced diet. That'll probably be the issue" he replies, voice guarded. The lightning mage sighs but doesn't prompt him more. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. The blond brings over two plates of food and sets them on the table with a fork.   
"Please don't eat my cutlery" he sighs, eating his food. "No promises" the iron slayer replied, starting to eat his own food. Throughout breakfast, the iron slayer kept fiddling about with his hair, pushing strands behind his ears and giving annoyed looks.   
"Would having someone else washing your hair help?" he offers before his brain even comprehends what he'd said. The iron slayer looks at him with a surprised look.   
"Never mind. Pretend I didn't say anything" he quickly added.   
"You want to wash my hair? What kind of proposal is that?" the dragon slayer asks, confusion showing clear in his crimson eyes.   
"I just thought- Never mind. It was stupid" the lightning mage waved off.   
"I never said no" Gajeel replied. The blond looked at him.   
"I'm not opposed to the idea. It would be better to have it clean. Its really pissing me off" he explains.   
"Alright. Finish the food first" he says, feeling his face heating up as he turns to look at the table. The two finished their food but still sat at the table, clearly embarrassed about the situation that was going to happen.   
"So. We should go to the bathroom" Laxus finally speaks up.   
"Right" the iron slayer agrees, taking a hold of his crutch and using it to push himself up to his feet. The lightning slayer turned the tap on, running his hand under the water as he waited for it heat up. When he was sure it was the right temperature, he flicked the leaver that swapped the water going from the tap to the shower head. He grabbed the shower and let it run into the bath.   
"If this gets uncomfortable or awkward-"   
"Just get started" the iron slayer grumbled, leaning his head over the edge of the bathtub and letting all his hair fall down and spread across the bottom of the tub. The lightning mage bit his lip before bringing the head of the shower over and wetting the thick mane while using his fingers to get out any tangles that had formed. When the entire thing was wet, the lightning mage put the shower down.   
"Do you have a specific shampoo that you use or is any alright?" he asks.   
"I ain't bothered" the iron slayer replies with a grumble. Laxus reaches over and picks up one of the bottles, running the shampoo through the long hair. Two lots of shampoo and a dose of conditioner later and the iron slayer was trying to wrap a towel around his hair with one hand.   
"Need help?" the lightning mage asks, leaning forward. Gajeel grumbles something under his breath but lowers one hand. Laxus uses the towel to soak up all the moisture from the thick mane, only leaving it damp.   
"Just need to brush it and it'll be fine" he states, grabbing the crutch that was leaned against the bath and using it to push himself up to his feet.   
"Need help with that or do you think you could handle it?" the lightning mage asks. The black haired mage contemplates it, lifting his less injured arm up to the back of his head and doing a motion down his hair.   
"Maybe" he mumbles. The two mages leave the bathroom. Gajeel sits down on the couch while the lightning slayer goes to look for a brush. He first finds the comb he uses on his hair and then a brush. He brings both down to the living room and sits down, laying the items on the table. He takes a grasp of the base of the dark hair and picks up the brush, repeatedly pulling it through the other male's hair.  
"Got anything that you could put on?" the iron slayer asked.   
"You mean like music?" Laxus asks.   
"That'll do" is the slayer's reply. Laxus reaches over to the lacrima that he keeps connected to his headphones and puts the music on shuffle. A rock song comes on and the iron slayer's shoulders tense.   
"You alright?" the lightning mage asks.   
"Yeah. I'm good" he replies, sounding strained as if he was trying to hold back something. The lightning mage went quiet, continuing to brush the other's hair while keeping an eye on him.


	19. Chapter 19

It was quiet in the household as the iron slayer sat in the living room, gaze rested on the blank screen of the Lacrima vision. The lightning mage had left to get some more food and didn't want to strain the dragon slayer too much. That was how the mage ended up sitting in the middle of the couch, not wanting to touch anything. Last time he'd touched something in Silas' house when the him and his friends weren't around then he'd be yelled at. It had formed into a habit. He never touched anything in someone's house if they weren't there. He'd never really felt at home in Silas' house anyway. The guy had made him uncomfortable there pretty early on with him sitting really close to him at any point and getting really touchy with him. Living with Juvia was a little better. She wasn't as touchy and gave him his space but it felt like he owed her something. He'd been sure to give her 2 months worth of jewel he got on jobs when he'd managed to acquire himself an apartment which was now probably a mess and infested with bugs and rodents. He hadn't been back there since Phantom disbanded and he wasn't sure he wanted to return to that horrible apartment. The boiler was shit, constantly breaking. All the wires to the lights were awful, blowing light-bulbs or flickering. All his furniture was cheap as hell and not good quality and the floorboards constantly needed replaced because they kept breaking with the horrible conditions of the small house. The click of a lock alerted the iron slayer and he turned his gaze to look at the door, head still turned to the lacrima vision in front of him. The door was pushed open and Laxus walked in with a few bags in hand. He looked up and furrowed his brows.  
"You haven't moved an inch since I left?" he pointed out, walking over to the kitchen and dumping the bags atop the counter. He turned back to look at the iron slayer who's eyes were following him. "Yeah" he stated plainly, blinking once but not breaking his gaze away. The lightning slayer blinked a couple times before turning around to unpack everything and putting it away in the kitchen. When finished, the lightning mage returned to the living room and dropped himself on the couch next to the other slayer.  
"Something bothering you or something?" he asks.   
"No" was his only response but Gajeel hadn't turned away. He was still staring. Laxus looked right into his crimson eyes. The iron slayer could be mistaken easily for some sort of death bringer. The combination of black and red that usually symbolized death and blood that sat in his hair and eyes, the metal that decorated his features and the scars that were from past battles. To the lightning mage, those eyes were more like rubies than a sea of blood and his dark hair almost resembling the fur of a fluffy black cat. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, his lips brushed against the other male's, eyes closed tight as their lips locked. Gajeel didn't know what to do. His body acted out of pure habit and that was to kiss back. Arms were draped over the shorter male's shoulders and hands gripping onto the tips of his long hair. When the two eventually parted, it took two seconds for the lightning mage to realize what he'd done. His eyes widened and a hand flew up to cover his mouth in pure shock at what he'd done. If he'd gotten too carried away then he could have caused Gajeel to cheat on Natsu with him. That would be worse than trying to kill everyone in the guild because that could never be forgotten. The iron slayer looked fully confused.   
"I didn't mean to do that" he apologized. The iron slayer still had the confused look.   
"What do you mean?" he asks, blinking a couple times. Laxus practically mimicked his confused look.   
"I just kissed you when you have a boyfriend" he reminds the man in front of him.  
"Yes that's what happened. I experienced the same thing you did" he stated with a hint of sass in his voice.   
"That's not good. If we'd gotten to carried away then you would have cheated on Natsu with me" he explains, panic rising in his voice. How was Gajeel fine with this.   
"I've done that before" he states like it was a normal thing.   
"You've cheated on Natsu before?!" Laxus yells.   
"I got with Natsu like a week or two ago. I'm talking about someone else" he explains.   
"You cheated on another partner you had!?" Laxus was in complete disbelief.  
"Cheating is when your partner gets payed to have people have sex with you right?" he asks, voice straining like it hurt to say aloud.   
"No! That's like..... using some as a sex slave or something!" the lightning mage objects.   
"Oh. Well then never mind. I haven't cheated on anyone before" the iron slayer says, turning to look away.  
"Are you alright?" he asks.   
"Yeah" the black haired male responds, still not looking at him. The blond's gaze softened.   
"Were you really used for sex like that" he asks.   
"I don't want to talk about it" the iron slayer responds, finding interest in an old photo of Laxus and his grandfather back when the lightning mage was a young kid. A hand was placed on his shoulder.   
"Gajeel, this is serious. Were you used as a sex slave?" he asked. The iron slayer fidgeted.   
"I said I don't want to talk about it" he mumbles, turning his gaze to the floor on the other side of him. Laxus sighed but dropped the subject.  
"I'll take the blame for this. It wasn't your fault. I forced myself onto you" he states, turning to look away. The iron slayer is quiet for a second before his gaze falls onto the lightning mage's bandaged hand.   
"Is that from when I bit you?" he asked. The blond turns his attention to the bandaged hand.   
"Oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that" he states, looking at the bandaged hand. His wrist is grabbed by the iron slayer and the bandage practically ripped off. On the back of Laxus' hand was a small scar on his knuckle. Under the scar was a pair of silver dragon wings that took up the entire back of his hand. In the center was a fully blossomed red rose. Laxus blinked in surprise.   
"I don't remember getting that" he states, looking at the mark. Gajeel is in shock. Its the same mark that Natsu had on his hand. The exact same. It wasn't like the one on Juvia's arm or Totumaru's shoulder. There's was just a yellow alstroemeria surrounded by white dragon wings.   
"Do you like me?" the iron slayer asked.   
"What?" Laxus asked in response.   
"That mark. Its the same as Natsu's" he points out. The lightning mage bites his lip before sighing.   
"Yes. I like you. I didn't want to say anything since I figured it would ruin your relationship with Natsu" he explains.  
"I mean.........I could talk to him. I'm sure we could work something out" he explains.   
"Right now the only vibes I'm getting from this are either you want Natsu to share you with me or your suggesting a threesome" the lightning mage explains.   
"A threesome but long term" he replies.   
"So you think Natsu would be willing to date two people at once?"   
"Worth a shot" the iron slayer shrugged.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The link below will take you to a drawing I made. Couldn't get the drawing to show up, only the link

Awkward silence filled the room that the three dragon slayers were in. All of them were sat at Laxus' kitchen table but none of them wanted to speak up. Minutes passed and no one spoke, only watched each other as they all stayed quite. Gajeel gets irritated by the silence pretty quickly but instead of saying anything he taps his fingers on the table in a repeated rhythm. The fire slayer looks over at his partner who has stopped paying attention to what everyone else is doing and has instead focused his gaze on the wall opposite him while drumming his fingers against the wood.  
"Alright. What did you call me here for exactly" Natsu asks, crossing his arms. The cast around his face had been removed a few days ago so he was free to say whatever he wanted to. Laxus turns his gaze away, not wanting to look at the other dragon slayer when he says this.   
"So.... I accidentally kissed Gajeel yesterday" he starts, coughing at the end in an attempt to clear his throat.   
"How did you accidentally kiss someone? Did you fall on top of each other or something?" he asks, slight anger in his voice.   
"Alright, so maybe I got a little carried away but it didn't go further than that, right Re- I mean Gajeel" he explains turning to the iron slayer who was still not paying attention to the conversation. Natsu snapped his fingers in front of the dragon slayer, catching his attention. He looks around, clearly startled for a few seconds before realizing what was going on.   
"Did you say something?" he asks.   
"We didn't do anything more than kiss, right" Laxus repeats.   
"No. Just a kiss. That's it" he agrees.   
"Is that all there was to this?" the fire slayer asks, placing his head onto the palm of his hand.   
"Gajeel wanted to offer something" Laxus explains, voice peaking slightly as he tugged on the collar of his shirt. Natsu turns to the iron dragon slayer.   
"How would you feel about a relationship threesome?" he asks.   
"I don't think that's what its called to be honest" Laxus quickly interjects. The iron slayer looks at him before shrugging and returning his gaze to his boyfriend who looks completely baffled.  
"You know. Like a relationship but with three people instead of two, you know" he tries to explain.   
"So like just all of us would be dating each other?" Natsu asks, tilting his head.   
"Pretty much" Laxus interjects once again. Both of them look at him.  
"What? I'm in this conversation too" he objects to the questioning looks. Natsu looks over at Laxus who's hand is in view. He looks between his own hand and Laxus', confirming that the marks were the exact same.   
"I guess it could work. No point in objecting to it if we don't try it right?" the fire slayer asks with a shrug of his shoulders.   
"Wow. That was easier than I thought it was" Gajeel states, putting his cheek into the palm of his hand. Then he quickly straightens, pupils narrowed.   
"No sex" he quickly states.   
"I think its a bit early for that anyway" Laxus agrees. Natsu nods in conformation. They all go silent again before Laxus speaks up.   
"So what are the two of you going to do about living arrangements?"   
"Well, I have a house with Happy so I'm good for now" the fire slayer responds. Both of them turn to Gajeel who is tapping the table in a completely different rhythm now.   
"I dunno. Now that Phantom's disbanded and I was presumed missing or dead, I guess I don't have my old place to go back to" he states, looking down at the table.  
"Your welcome to stay at my place at any point" Laxus offers.   
"Its probably better that if we all want to stay together, we stay here. I don't have enough room for all of us in my house. Its nice but definitely not enough bed space for three people and Happy" Natsu points out.   
"Right, you have Happy" Laxus states, looking away from Natsu. He then turns back.   
"You know, I remember when you were like 12 and you hatched that little cat" Laxus points out, looking back over at the fire slayer.   
"Your only like 4 years older than me" Natsu objects with a huff.  
"Wait, how old are you?" the iron slayer asks, turning to the lightning mage.   
"I'm 23" he states plainly. Gajeel looks at his hands, counting on each finger.   
"Huh. Your 4 years older than me too" He points out. The two other slayers nearly choke on air.   
"Your 19!" Natsu yells in shock.   
"Yeah. Why's that surprising?" he asks.   
"Because you do not look like someone in their last year of being a teenager" Laxus objects.   
"What age did you think I was?" The iron slayer asks.   
"At least 21" Natsu replies.   
"Wow. Guess its the fact that I look pissed most of the time. At least that's what Juvia tells me" he explains.   
"So the two of you are basically the same age" Laxus states.   
"I guess" the iron slayer agrees.   
"This has probably been one of the more eventful talks I've had" Natsu states, looking down at the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long, things have just been busy and motivating lately. On the plus side, I drew Gajeel's changed form. It only took me like 5 weeks and many attempts to get something I was satisfied with. I'm not very good at drawing muzzles on first tries.


	21. Chapter 21

Natsu walked into the house of the lightning slayer, looking very confused.  
"Your so confused that I can practically hear your brain screaming" Gajeel states, holding a bunch of Uno cards in his hand. Laxus placed down a green 8 card on the pile on the coffee table before looking up.   
"Wait, were you playing Uno the entire time I was on the mission?" the fire user asks, looking hurt.   
"No. We just started. Your free to join if you want. I was winning anyway" Laxus offers, placing his hands in the air with his cards in one hand. Gajeel snorted in response to that, rolling his eyes to go along with it.  
"That sounds fun" Natsu says happily, eyes sparkling. He sits on the floor at the table as Gajeel gathers all the cards and starts shuffling them together.  
"So why the confused face" the lightning mage asks.  
"Well, I was talking with the others and everyone's planning on having a party at the guild in a few days an-"   
"No" the iron slayer cut him off.   
"I didn't even finish" Natsu objects.   
"I know what your going to say. You want us to go. Sparky can go if he wants but I ain't going" the long haired male objects, splitting the deck and shuffling one half into the other.  
"But you haven't even given it a try. It might help build some trust with the rest of the guild about you. Or at least stop the insults" he objects.   
"The last time I went to a party everything went to shit. I ain't going" he objects again.  
"Ok so you were thrown out a window. It was one time-"   
"You were thrown out a window?!" Laxus interrupts, looking shocked.  
"First of all. That was my second party" Gajeel explains.   
"You were still thrown out a window. How? Your nearly the same height as me" Laxus objects.  
"I was like 12 or somethin' and the woman who threw me out the window was in her twenties" he explains, shrugging.   
"So that isn't the reason you don't want to come?" Natsu asks.  
"I'm pretty sure the only people in your guild who could throw me out a window would be the old man and your white haired friend who keeps yelling about how manly stuff is" he explains.   
"And maybe sparky" he quickly adds.   
"That's Elfman, Mira's sister" Laxus corrects him.   
"I've been in yer guild for like a couple months. Most of which was either spent not in the guild. I don't know everyone's names. All I know are the two of you, yer cat, Gildarts, Mystagon, the old man and the she demon. Oh and that blond chick with the big breasts and the keys" he explains.  
"Her name's Lucy" Happy piped up, flying over from the kitchen and landing on Natsu's head.   
"I know her name. The two of you wouldn't shut up about her during our fight" the iron slayer explained. The fire slayer crossed his arms.  
"Can you just give it a try?" he asks.   
"Why do you want me to go so badly?" he asks.   
"Because it'll be fun" the fire user objects. Gajeel turns to his other partner who shrugs.   
"I'm going mostly for the free booze and food. No need to cook shit for dinner if I'm going to be eating the food at the guild" Laxus explains, crossing his arms casually and leaning back against the chair behind him.  
"Is Juvia gonna be there?" the iron slayer asks.   
"Yeah. I heard her saying how excited she was about this party" Natsu confirms. Gajeel groans, running a hand down his face.  
"I'm never gonna live it down if I don't show up now" he grumbles.   
"So your coming?" the fire mage asks with excitement.   
"Yeah but don't think I'm gonna be indulging in anything" he explains.  
"So you aren't gonna drink any booze?" the lightning mage asks. Gajeel starts dishing out cards.   
"No. Last time I got drunk, I blabbed too much shit to Juvia and Totumaru. I ain't making that mistake again" he objects. Placing the remaining cards in a pile on the table and flipping one onto a second pile.  
"That sounds concerning and sketchy as hell but if you don't want to drink then its your choice" Laxus shrugs, putting down another card on top of the pile after drawing one.   
"This is gonna be fun. Maybe we c-"   
"I ain't dancing. Its bad enough that I'm going to this shitty party in the first place, I ain't dancing too" Gajeel objects. Natsu turns to Laxus.  
"Probably won't unless the music's good" he explains.   
"Wait. R- Gajeel, do you even know how to dance?" The lightning mage asks. The slayer in question turns away.   
"Shut up"   
"Oh my gods. You don't know how to dance" Natsu sounds astonished.   
"I never needed to bloody dance, so why learn" he argues. Natsu snickers. Gajeel just rolls his eyes in response.


	22. Chapter 22

The guild was jam packed with members, most of which were drinking more than usual with a few exceptions. Natsu had wandered off somewhere, leaving his partners at the bar. Laxus took a good drink from his glass of booze, looking over at the iron slayer who was looking at all the dancing people, a glass of water on the table next to him. He looks forward as well.   
"Don't know what I was expecten' from a Fairy party" he states, leaning back in his stool and against the bar. The lightning mage snorts.   
"When Fairy tail parties, they party hard" he states, following his statement up with a swing from his cup, emptying it. He places it back onto the counter and proceeds to pull at the hem of his large coat as to keep it on his shoulders.  
"What do you use to keep that on your shoulders anyway? Magnets" The iron slayer jokes.   
"If I had magnets then you would have sniffed them out and eaten them by now" Laxus chuckles. Gajeel rolled his eyes, picking up his glass and taking a sip from it. He nearly spits it back out at the taste.  
"Ugh. Your water tastes like shit" he comments, looking at the liquid in his glass.   
"Oh so you have standards for water now" The lightning mage counters.  
"Yeah. Make your water taste not like shit" he objects.   
"Is that even grammarly correct?"   
"Like I give a shit about bloody grammar" Despite his objections about the drink, he still downs the substance in one go.   
"So it tastes like shit but you still drink it. What kind of standards are those? If you were going to just drink it then why complain?" Laxus points out.   
"Just cause it tastes like shit doesn't mean I'm not gonna drink it. I'm thirsty and its nothing compared to muddy water so there's that" he explains.  
"I'm not even going to ask about the muddy water thing because I don't want to kn-"   
"I needed a drink and there was only a muddy lake to drink from" he interrupts.   
"I said I didn't want to know" Laxus repeats.   
"Well now ya do" the iron slayer smirks, sharp teeth on display. Laxus pauses for a second.  
"Wait a second. Didn't I knock one of your teeth out?" he asks. There was no gap where he had knocked his tooth out in the fight. Gajeel reaches up, finger gently brushing over his teeth until they reached one that was slightly shorter than the rest.   
"Oh cool, its growing back in" he states casually, removing his finger from his mouth.  
"Growing back? Teeth don't grow back" Laxus states with a pretty exaggerated hand gesture.   
"Mine do. This one wasn't too bad. Not to much trouble with eating or speech. That's a plus" he explains with a shrug.   
"I think I'm done with this now" the lightning mage sighs, turning to look forward again. After about a minute, Gajeel's movements caught his eye. He had lifted his hand up to his head and was rubbing his temples.   
"You got a headache or somethin'?" the lightning slayer asks.   
"Its nothing. All this music must be makin' my brain hazy" he shrugs. The lightning mage sighs but says nothing more, proceeding to look back at the party. It wasn't until five minutes later that the iron slayer moved. He got to his feet, stumbling slightly but catching his balance. Laxus opened his mouth but was cut off by a simple   
"Bathroom" from the slayer in question before he walked off out of the taller male's sight. He left the man be and stayed seated, not really realizing how much time was passing until the fire slayer stumbled over with a big grin on his face.   
"Hey Laxus, G- Where's Gajeel?" he asks, slumping onto a seat next to Laxus.   
"He went to the bathroom" the blond replied, looking at his now refilled cup of booze. Natsu went quiet, sitting with his legs crossed into a basket on the chair. His nose twitched for a second.   
"When did he get up?" he asks.   
"I dunno. Hard to keep track of time with music being blared through the room" he points out.   
"Why?" he adds.  
"Cause Gajeel's scent is kinda stale. I'd say about 27 minutes old" he explains.   
"Ok. That's concerning. No one goes to the bathroom for nearly 30 minutes. What the hell is he doing?" the blond grumbles, getting to his feet and walking over to the bathroom. The door was locked. The lightning mage knocked, thankful that the door to the bathroom was obscured by a wall. The fire mage joined him, eyes spotting the occupied on the door lock. When there was no answer, the lightning mage knocked again, followed with a   
"Gajeel, what are you doing in there?" When there was still no answer, the lightning mage was done. He used his lightning to unlock the door. The door opened with ease. The bathroom itself was empty, the single window opened enough for someone to fit through. Natsu sniffed the air. The other dragon slayer's scent was stale there too. He'd been there but it had been a while ago.   
"Its stale" the fire mage states.   
"Ok. So how are we going to explain to gramps that we lost the guy we were supposed to be watching and that he's out somewhere doing gods know what" the blond asks his partner. The fire slayer reaches up to his scarf, pulling on it nervously.   
"I... I don't know" he mumbles. Laxus groans.   
"We need to go find him before he gets hurt. He has no magic with those cuffs and there will be a lot of people who would jump at an opportunity like this to go for him" he growls, grabbing the other's wrist and dragging him out of the guild.  
"What about Happy?" Natsu asks.   
"Happy can find his own way home. Right now we need to find Gajeel because something clearly gave him the idea that he needed to climb out a bloody window" the lightning mage snaps. The fire slayer nods, keeping up with the lightning mage to the point where his wrist was released from the others grip.   
"Can you pick up on any scents?" the lightning mage asks. Natsu's nose twitches as he sniffs the air.   
"Yeah. No one's walked over his scent yet so its not been disturbed yet. It goes that way" he explains, pointing in the direction it led in. Right out of Magnolia.  
"Well then, best follow it" Laxus sighs, ignoring the uneasy feeling that was crawling its way into his stomach.


	23. Chapter 23

_"I won't do it again. I'll listen from now on. I promise. P-please don't put me back in there" a small child begged, pulling at the sleeve of the taller man who was pulling him into a bedroom. The man stopped, pushing the child onto the floor and coming to face startled red eyes._   
_"Shut up Redfox. You pissed me off. You know what happens when you piss me off" he snapped at the younger male._   
_"But I don't like all those people who want to have sex with me. Don't I get a say?" he asks, slim body shaking out of fear. The older man stared down at the child menacingly, like he was prey that he was ready to sink his teeth into._   
_"I've already told you. No one gets a say in what they do and you definitely do not. You belong to me and_ **_I_ ** _decide whether those people fuck you" he spat._   
_"And as far as I'm concerned, that's exactly what your going to do. Don't forget that you'll be out on the street if you don't earn your keep like anyone else" he snaps. 'Redfox' shrinks away slightly, prepared for anything to come. A hand collided with his cheek, leaving a red mark where it had made contact across his cheekbone._   
_"Silas, there's someone here to see you" a woman snorted, twirling a strand of curly brown hair in one hand and looking at her nails on the other. Silas ran a hand over his hair, a sly smile weaving over his lips._   
_"Who is our guest?" he asks, clasping his hands together, almost like he had forgotten what had happened prior to the door opening._   
_"I dunno. Some pretty boy. Said he'd payed you for sex tonight or something like that" she explains, eyes focusing down on the younger male crouched on the floor. She snorted._   
_"What's wrong slut, can't handle a little punishment" she hissed, eyes filled with poison. He didn't respond, only kept his mouth shut._   
_"Tell him I'll be out in a minute" he orders. The woman shrugs but leaves the room, closing the door with her. Silas turned back to 'Redfox' and his face instantly went back to being filled with anger and hatred. He grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him to his feet and tossing the smaller male into the open cupboard. He slammed against the wall inside, taking a few seconds to recover from the shock of the impact. By the time he had recovered, the door was already closed and he picked up on the click of a padlock. He knelled in the small space of the cupboard, barely big enough for him to even be in. Red eyes traveled around the room frantically. He hated the cupboard. It felt like he couldn't breath in there and as he was getting taller, it became a lot tighter in the space than it had been the first time he'd been thrown in there. He wanted out but it was no use. Everything was enchanted to stop him from breaking free. And if he made any noise then his punishment would be extended. All he could do was wait, biting his arm in hopes of keeping himself quiet._

"Gajeel!" Laxus yelled into the trees. The fire slayer was slightly ahead of him, nose constantly twitching as he tried to keep a hold of the iron slayer's scent.   
"Gajeel!" the lightning mage called again. Still no answer.   
"Hey Ga-" he cut himself off when he nearly ran right into Natsu.   
"Why'd you stop?" he asks, coming to stand next to the slayer. He points towards a gap in the trees. The blond looks, biting his lip. Sitting on the edge of a cliff was the slayer. He had his legs pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around them and head buried into them. He appeared to be shaking violently but neither of the slayers knew if it was because he was cold or scared. Natsu took a step forward.   
"Hey Gajeel. You alright?" he asks, stepping closer. Fingernails dig into the skin of his legs, drawing blood and staining his leg with more blood.   
"Its alright. It's me. Natsu. Why don't we go to Laxus' place and get you warmed up?" he offers, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. Gajeel's reaction was instant. His head snapped up, pupils dilating as if the simple act of placing a hand on his shoulder had sent piercing pain through his entire body. His hands flew up, knocking the other's hand away before quickly being brought up in front of his face and neck as if trying to protect himself. Laxus stepped forward but he didn't try to touch the other.   
"Come on Gajeel, come back to my home. You'll be safe there. Promise" he tries to assure the other.  
"No. I don't want to go back. He's gonna be mad at me. I wasn't supposed to run away. He's gonna punish me again. I don't want to be punished. It hurts. It hurts" he whimpers, his entire body shaking more and his hands grabbing onto his neck, nails sinking into the skin as he almost looked prepared to choke himself. Now that his hands were no longer in front of his face, both slayers could see the red that was creeping its way around his eyes. Laxus gestured to Natsu before walking a few feet away. The fire slayer quickly joined him.   
"Is he alright? I don't think this is normal" he states.   
"I have a suspicion that he's been drugged but I don't know how we're going to get him somewhere safer. He's pretty scratched up so something's happened while we were looking for him" the taller male explains.  
"Maybe Juvia can help" The pink haired male offers.   
"Juvia? You mean the girl who's obsessed with Gray? How's she going to help?" he asks.   
"Well, I think they were friends in Phantom Lord so maybe she'll know how to calm him down" Natsu explains. The lightning mage sighs.  
"Fine. I'll go get her, you stay here and watch Gajeel. See if you can get him to calm down a little" he explains. The fire slayer nods, turning his attention towards Gajeel who was now biting his lower arm.  
"I'll try to be as quick as possible" he adds before using his lightning magic to zap himself back to the fairy tail guild.


	24. Chapter 24

It was a task for the lightning slayer to find the person he was looking for since everyone in the guild was still partying but he found her eventually. She was stood in one place, hand up against her cheek as she stared at the ice mage on the other side of the room. Laxus walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder. She turned to look at him, tilting her head.   
"Hello?" she asked.   
"Natsu and I need your help" the slayer whispers to her, trying to keep the situation as concealed as possible.   
"What could Juvia help with?"   
"Its about Gajeel" Within a second Juvia was walking out of the guild. Laxus quickly caught up with her.   
"I can show you where-"   
"Juvia needs Totomaru first" she objects, going in a different direction. Laxus pauses for a second to think about that.  
"Wait, why do we need this Totomaru guy?" he asks, catching up with her again.   
"Totumaru can help too" Juvia explained, heading towards the train station. The lightning slayer sighed.   
"Fine, where does he live?" he asks, grabbing the smaller female's wrist. Juvia lifts her hands ever so slightly from surprise before turning to the taller male. She gives him the address for the person she wanted. Within seconds they were outside a one floored house just on the outskirts of Oak town. Laxus looks at the house. There as all sorts of marks around the house possibly from long periods of time. Scorch marks littered the stone, some of which was bashed in or had slashes across the surface.   
"What happened to the house?" Laxus asked, looking over the old stone.  
"Oh that was Juvia, Totomaru and Gajeel" the rain woman explained with a small smile as if the memory of them causing damage to the house was a fond one. Laxus nearly chocked on air.   
"Excuse me what?" he asked but Juvia was already up at the door of the house, finger pressed against the doorbell. The slayer quickly joined her, slightly sensitive ears picking up on a string of curses coming from inside the house. The curses were soon followed by the door opening, a man who looked to be around a similar age to the water mage stood in the doorway. His two toned hair wasn't tied up in its usual ponytail, instead all of it hanging down over his shoulders.   
"What do I owe the pleasure of a visit at nearly midnight, some of us do actually like to go to bed early ya know" he grumbles, hand aggressively rubbing at one eye socket.   
"Juvia needs Totomaru's help. Its important" the blue haired woman pleads to her two toned friend.

He sighs.   
"Fine. Explain what's important" he tells her with a wave of his hand.   
"Its about Gajeel-" Juvia didn't need to say anything else as he was already grabbing a coat and throwing it on, keys in hand as he locked the door behind him.   
"We didn't even tell you what was going on" Laxus points out, watching the two former Phantom members walking in front of him.   
"No need, Juvia wouldn't be coming to get me about him if he was just frolicking around in a meadow or some shit" Totomaru explains, hands raising up to his mouth, rubbing together.   
"Fuck its cold tonight" he hisses, breath coming out in a cloud.  
"Neither of you even know what's happening with him and yet your already on your feet ready to hunt him down" Laxus objects to how fast both of them were to help the iron slayer. He couldn't understand it. Both of them looked at each other for a second before looking back at Laxus.  
"Gajeel is like a brother to us. Of course we'd be quick to help him if he needs it. Yeah he's stubborn as hell and has refused help in the past but we'd both still help him in a heartbeat" the fire mage explains. Laxus sighs.  
"Its better I just take you there then. It'll be harder to explain" he explains, holding out his hand for them.  
"I'm not gonna hold your hand ya big woos" Totomaru objects.   
"That's not what I want you to do it for. I can get us there faster with my magic unless you'd prefer to walk about 2 hours" he snaps in return. Juvia quickly puts her hand in Laxus' palm. Totomaru rolls his eyes but does the same. Sparks surrounded the lightning mage before all three of them were whisked up and traveled all the way to the location that the lightning mage had left the two dragon slayers. The sound of crackling thunder brought the fire slayer to attention as he turned to face the sparks of lightning as they faded. Relief washed over his features when he saw that it was Laxus with the phantom girl. His shoulders then tensed when he saw Totomaru who proceeded to ignore the other fire mage. Instead both of them fixed their gaze on the iron slayer who had his teeth sunk into his arm, blood dripping down onto the grass and turning it crimson.   
"This is worse than I thought" the former phantom mage stated, looking over the slayer that was curled up to appear smaller than he actually was.   
"Do you know what's happening?" Natsu asked.   
"Juvia thinks Gajeel's having another panic attack" she explains, watching the iron slayer. She then proceeds to walk towards him, bending down in front of the male who was only wearing his underwear, the fabric stained with blood.  
"Gajeel?" she asks. The iron slayer meets her gaze for a second before his eyes look over to where the rest of them are, body still violently shaking.  
"Is Gajeel alright?" she asks. She could tell just from looking at him that he wasn't. Bruises had begun forming across patches of his skin, he had crusted or fresh blood covering most of his body as well as a tooth was missing, blood dripping down from where the gums had been ripped from what appeared to be a forceful tug. The slayer also had red marks in the shape of a set of hands forming around his neck. Hands were raised up to his neck again, squeezing slightly.   
"He came. H-he wanted me dead" the iron slayer whimpers, eyes fixing on Juvia before trailing away again. The water mage looked at the others who all looked just as puzzled as she was. Totomaru walked forward, kneeling down on the ground as well.   
"Gajeel, how about we get you somewhere warm. You've got to be freezing out here like this" he offers. The iron slayer's mouth began moving but he didn't say anything, eyes staring off into the trees, unfocused.   
"Who's this person your talking about?" he asks, looking at Juvia who nods. The iron slayer reaches up to his neck, this time fingers clawing at the skin, drawing more blood that dribbled down past his shoulder blades and joined the rest of the crimson that stained his usually tanned skin.  
"Gajeel?" he asks again, a hand reaching out to touch the iron slayer. His pupils dilate again, hands coming up to protect his face and neck once again, shaking growing more violent and breathing becoming labored. The fire mage pulls his hand back. Juvia stands up, walking over to the other two.   
"Juvia isn't sure who Gajeel is talking about" she explains, standing next to them. The two slayers look at each other for a second before directing their attention back on their other partner. Totomaru kept trying to get information but whether it was the drugs or the panic attack, he wasn't making much sense. He screamed out a cry that almost resembled that of a wounded animal, slowly growing quiet after a couple minutes.   
"Juvia doesn't remember ever seeing Gajeel like this" she mumbles, looking at the dragon slayer. Natsu took in a deep breath before his eyes widened, nose twitching. He was picking up on a scent that hadn't been there before. He twitched his nose for a few seconds, recognizing the smell. Gunpowder.   
"Look out!" he yelled, grabbing onto Laxus and Juvia, pulling them down to the ground just as a gun fired. Totomaru out of reflex grabbed onto Gajeel's shoulder, pulling him down. A few seconds after the sound, the iron slayer was curling up on the ground, pained animal sounds returning. The fire slayer was on his feet in seconds, running in the direction of the smell but found nothing but a cut off scent. He stomped over, teeth grinding down on each other. Laxus pushed himself to his feet.   
"Who was it?" he asked, looking at the shorter slayer.   
"Don't know. Scent was cut off. They must have used teleporting magic" he explains. Juvia lifted her head, short bangs brushing against her face.   
"Juvia asks what happened?"   
"Some guy had a gun. They were aiming for one of us" Laxus explained. His statement was quickly followed up with another string of curses coming from Totomaru.   
"What happened?" the fire slayer asked.   
"They got Gajeel" he states, hand on the mentioned slayer's shoulder. All of them quickly picked up that the pained howls were gone. In fact, the iron slayer had gone completely silent without even so much as a whimper.   
"Is he-?" Laxus couldn't finish his sentence.   
"No. He's still breathing. The shock must have caused him to conk out" he shakes his head. The other three mages walked over to examine the slayer. A circular wound on the back of his neck was now visible as the iron slayer's hair had been moved out of the way, blood pooling out and running down from the wound.   
"He needs a medic. If that bullet hit a major blood vessel then he won't have much longer left if he doesn't get help" the fire mage explained, moving dark bangs out of the slayer's face.   
"I'll get him to the hospital" Laxus quickly offered, already moving his arms to pick up the iron slayer with as much care as possible. No one argued as the lightning mage finished lifting up the slayer, using his magic to get to a hospital in Magnolia.


	25. Chapter 25

When the other three mages reached the hospital that Laxus had gone to, they quickly spotted the blond sat in a more secluded corner of the waiting room, hands up to his mouth and eyes directed at the floor. All three approached, getting his attention.  
"Did Laxus get any news?" Juvia asked, looking hopeful.   
"Doctors took him into surgery to remove the bullet, that's all I know. They've not said anything else" he explained, looking over at the doors that led to the rest of the hospital. Totumaru began pacing, running a hand through his hair.   
"If I'd been faster then he w-" he trailed off, eyes widening.   
"Is something wrong? Is Totumaru hurt too?" Juvia asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. He spun around to face her.  
"I think I figured something out" he states, eyes still wide.   
"You're going to have to explain, we can't read minds" Laxus points out.  
"Whoever shot that bullet was aiming for Gajeel. There's no way it would have been so perfect in the middle of his neck if it wasn't him they were aiming for" he explains.  
"So they were-"   
"Aiming for his head. If I hadn't pulled him down from reflex and panic then he would have been shot in the head" Totumaru cuts Natsu off.   
"Juvia thinks she understands. But what about the man Gajeel was talking about who was trying to kill him" she points out.  
"Could have been the same person. Makes sense that they'd use a method that would keep them hidden while we were all there" Laxus explains.  
"Well this is great. All we have to go off of is that he's a guy, can shoot a gun and his scent" the two toned man grumbles.   
"Actually there were two scents" the fire slayer pipes up. All three of them turn to look at the pink haired mage.   
"There was two people" Laxus asks. "Apparently" he replied.   
"So they must have gotten someone else to use the gun then. That makes sense" Totumaru mumbles.   
"Umm excuse me" someone asked. They turn to look. A young woman about late 20's stood in front of them with a clipboard.   
"Is something wrong?"Totumaru grumbles, shoulders tensing.   
"You're all here about Mr Redfox correct?" she asks, looking down at something on her clipboard.  
"Is he alive?" Laxus asked, refraining from standing and possibly scaring the girl.   
"Mr Redfox is out of surgery and currently resting. The doctor said you could visit him right now and we can explain the extent of his injuries" she explained, clicking the lid of a pen once. The four mages looked at each other before agreeing to follow the woman. She led them through the double doors and up a set of stairs to the second floor. She then led them along the corridor until they reached a room that had the dragon slayer's full name written on it. She opened the door, letting the mages in. The room was pretty plain, light blue walls, white ceiling. The usual. There was a small shower room attached with a toilet and shower and a single bed against the wall with a little cabinet right beside it. In the bed was the iron dragon slayer, eyes closed and breathing uneven despite the small Nasal Cannula attached to his nose. He also had several bandages wrapped around parts of his body and a blue hospital gown on. All four mages waited patiently for her to explain. She picks up some notes that had been attached to the bed and looked at them.   
"The bullet was successfully removed. Mr Redfox was lucky as the bullet only burst a vein in his neck before bouncing up and getting lodged in the base of his jaw. He might have a permanent scar in his jaw from this" she starts. Everyone in the room stayed quiet so she took this as a sign to continue.  
"Mr Redfox was also under the influence of a drug called Oracle. Its illegal in the country and has some serious side affects to the use. Its best you make sure he doesn't have anymore Oracle hidden at home both for his health and legal purposes" she explains.  
"Juvia asks what the side affects are?"   
"Minor side affects are just stuff like muscle pain, stiff joints, feeling dehydrated, the usual side affects but a large enough dose can in fact cause things like nerve issues, blindness and even death" she explains.  
"I've never heard of Oracle, what exactly does it do?" Totumaru asks, hand gripping at his coat tightly.   
"It was designed to disorient the user. Its similar to other drugs of the sort and was made illegal due to the amount of people using it for illegal reasons. It can cause someone to believe they are experiencing something that isn't actually happening as well" she explains.   
"So, he wasn't attacked the first time. He imagined it?" Natsu asked, tilting his head with confusion.   
"Well, its uncertain for now. There was a very serious wound in his stomach that looked to be caused by a sharp blade of sorts. There was also glass shards in his head and bits of metal hidden in some deep cuts" she explains. All four mages were confused.   
"I'll leave you for now but you have about 20 minutes" she explains before leaving the room. No one spoke, only stood in silence, completely bewildered by the entire situation at hand.


	26. Chapter 26

Despite no rain falling, the night was very gloomy, clouds gathering dark and heavy. Two people were walking through the dark, both had their faces hidden from anyone watching. The younger of the two walked up the steps of a nice house, keys pulled out and fumbling with the lock on the door. The door finally opened and the two men walked in.   
"I brought him like you asked. Council didn't even notice me slip in" the younger man smirked, pulling the hood that he'd used to conceal his face down, revealing darker skin and golden eyes that shone when the light of the room hit them. A tall man who's hair reached his shoulders sat on the edge of the couch, a smirk forming as he turned to the older man who removed his own hood.   
"Jose Porla. I've heard so much about you" the one who seemed to be the leader spoke, pushing himself of the couch arm and standing tall.   
"What does a brat like you want" Jose hissed through his teeth.   
"I could snap your neck in a second" he adds, eyes narrowed. The leader snorts.   
"Like you'd get the chance. I wrangled your best mage and bent him to my will for years. You really think you want to try me?" he asks, tilting his head slightly.   
"What do you want brat" the former saint grumbles, watching the other man as his green, cat like eyes looked over him with a sharp gaze.  
"I need a little assistance" he explains, finally meeting Jose's again.   
"With what"   
"Redfox. He's currently in hospital and not dead" the slim man replied with a hint of venom, playing with a strand of dark locks.   
"Are you fucking serious?! You put him a hospital. If those doctors do blood tests or X-rays then they'll know exactly what he-"   
"He got shot in the neck. Like they'll do any X-rays and find that he has wings or a tail or that his jaw is set back further than it should. Who gives a shit about that" the other man spat.   
"How did you even find out about that" Jose was surprised.   
"I read your file on Redfox that you left abandoned in your guild hall" was the response.   
"That wasn't something you should have been reading"   
"Like I care. I was looking for a good way to kill him but another one of your 'special children' decided to play hero and pulled Redfox out of the way before that bullet hit his head"  
"You tried to kill my most skilled mage. I don't appreciate that"   
"Your prized child abandoned you for Fairy tail and went soft for the two dragon slayers that hang around that guild. I overheard the shit Redfox was muttering under his breath. He won't come back to you. He's gone soft and the only way to keep all of the shit he has on both of us is to kill him"  
"What would you even have that he would spill" Jose grumbled, looking the other man up and down. He didn't look anything special.   
"Lets just call the shit I did illegal. Cause that's what it was. If he spills that shit then my reputation in the eyes of the council is done for. I'll be locked up" he explained.  
"So why break me out"   
"I want you to kill him. He'll still be under the influence of those drugs the doctors gave him so he won't fight back this time" he responded.   
"And why would I listen to a scrawny bitch like you" the older man growled. The dark haired male rolled his eyes, hand reaching down the back of the couch and wrapping around something. He pulled out a gun, pointing it at the former guild master.   
"Well then I'll shoot you before you have a chance to move"   
"You could have killed him like that and yet you didn't. That's idiotic" Jose mocked.   
"Oh I didn't shoot him because that wouldn't have been any fun. I planned on fucking him up and stringing up what was left in the middle of Magnolia's park for everyone to see. But he ran off before I could get far" he shrugged, finger stroking the trigger on the gun.   
"What's in it for me?" the former saint asked, looking at the gun.   
"I'll pay you handsomely. If you fail then I'll just pin the blame on you and you'll be back in for longer with an attempted murder charge" he smirks, biting his lip with a smirk.   
"Fine" the older man agreed.   
"Then its settled. You'll go now before those drugs wear off" he explains, pulling the gun down and fiddling with it. Jose said nothing, only stared at the younger man who pissed him off.

**_ ________________________________________ _ **

"I hope Gajeel will be alright" Natsu sighed, fiddling with his fingers.   
"Well, so long as he doesn't get a gun somehow and shoot himself then he should be fine" Totomaru joked, taking off his coat and hanging it up in the hall of Laxus' house.  
"Juvia is still very worried about what happened" the water mumbled, looking at her feet.   
"We both are but just think about this. The drugs aren't what put him in hospital this time" he assures his friend.   
"What do you mean this time" Laxus asked, looking at the former phantom mages.   
"Did he not tell you?" The fire mage asked, looking at his companion with confusion. Both dragon slayers shook their heads.   
"Oh my god. He's trying to keep all of that shit from when we were teens under wraps" he hissed.  
"What are you talking about?" the lightning mage asked, looking between the two former phantom members.   
"Well for starters, the reason the doctor was talking about making sure he didn't have any drugs in the house was because he's already been hospitalized because of a drug overdose before" Totomaru explained.   
"What?" Both dragon slayers were bewildered.   
"Juvia remembers that the doctors thought it was an attempted suicide. Juvia thinks she agrees because Gajeel wasn't doing very well at the time" Juvia explained, looking down as the short strands of hair framed her face.  
"I agree with that one. He was horribly underweight, looked exhausted all the time and he had bandages wrapped around his arms at the time. Couldn't see any of the light that had been in his eyes when we were younger. It was completely gone at that point" the fire bender added on with a sigh, not making eye contact.  
"I remember Gajeel talking about being a little underweight when I asked about the scar on his back but he didn't go into a lot of detail" the fire slayer explained.   
"Well that's just conformation that he's been lying or at least bending the truth when telling the two of you stuff"   
"Why would he lie about his health though. That doesn't make sense" the lightning mage countered the short two toned male.  
"You weren't there. You didn't see what it was like. When we say he was underweight. We mean that every bone in his body was so prominent. It wasn't that noticeable when he was living with Silas but when we were living together it was easy to pick up on habits that we didn't notice"   
"Juvia thinks Totomaru is right. Juvia remembers that Gajeel was always hesitant to eat meals and never ate anything big. He ate a lot of iron but it didn't seem to help. Just stopped him feeling hungry" Juvia explains.   
"Then there's the biting that he did when he felt cornered or threatened or scared in anyway and the fear that if he didn't do something correct then he'd be punished for it" Totomaru added.  
"What the hell happened to him?" Natsu asked, eyes wide.   
"We don't know. Gajeel refuses to talk about anything that happened when he was alone with Jose or when he went back to the house he lived in with Silas" He responded. Everyone was quiet.  
"I got one thing out of him once. He thought cheating and being used as a sex slave were the same thing. He told me to just forget about it and didn't elaborate on it" Laxus explained. The three other members of the room were in shock.  
"Alright if Silas even fucking touched Gajeel like that or had someone else do that then I'm storming over there and burning him and his party to a crisp. Gajeel was nearly 10 years younger than him and still a child when they were living together and they broke up when he was 16. If he did shit like that then I'll make sure he ends up in hell" Totomaru spat out, nails digging into palms and smoke rising from hands. No one said a word after that.


	27. Chapter 27

_"What did you call me for master Jose?" a tall male asked, posture slacking slightly. The older man was sat in front of him in the large chair of his office, although it didn't look much like one. The man smirked at the male who had entered._  
 _"I have a special mission for you Gajeel" Jose explained, crossing one leg over the other._  
 _"If its another assassination mission then just give me the details and I'll get it done with" the dragon slayer grumbled, not turning away from the man in front of him._  
 _"This is not an assassination request my boy and you won't be the one executing it" the saint explains, pushing himself off his chair and walking over to the slayer._  
 _"Then why was I called up here if I'm not the one who's gonna complete it" Gajeel grumbled, flexing his fingers with a hint of annoyance._  
 _"I have a special task for you that will help with the mission" he explained, grabbing onto the younger male's jaw. He received a low growl in response._  
 _"I want you to mess up the Fairy tail guild hall. The target is in that guild so we need to draw their attention" he explains, tightening the grip on Gajeel's jaw for a few seconds before releasing his grip._  
 _"I look forward to your report" he states, not removing his gaze from the iron slayer. Said slayer growled once before turning his back and leaving the room. He couldn't be bothered dealing with the other members of the guild or listening to the questions of Totumaru and Juvia if they were to spot him so instead he just made his way back. He unlocked the magic infused door of his house and entered the dark home. All curtains were drawn and he made no move to open them. Instead he made his way to his room where he shut the door behind him. When in his room, he reached under his bed and pulled out the box he kept hidden under it._  
 _"Fairy tail has its own dragon slayer" he mumbles from memory. He opened the box and started looking through the cut out articles, hoping to find a weakness to the fire dragon slayer. As a child when joining Phantom, Gajeel thought he was alone as a dragon slayer but when the fire dragon started making a name for himself, it wasn't long before he heard about the other dragon slayer. He had kept an eye out for any information that he could ever use but he was still undecided on the slayer. He had yet to meet him in person and therefore couldn't devise an opinion on him. He might have chosen to find him if he was younger but as Gajeel neared his 20th birthday, he refused to make contact with any other person outside of Phantom. He hardly liked anyone in Phantom anyway since most of them were assholes. Finding nothing in the clippings, he knocked the box onto the floor and threw his hand towards the wall, leaving another dent above his headboard. The room filled with silence. Large hands ran through his hair as he growled._  
 _"Fuckin silence" he cursed, leaning back on the bed. He chose to ignore the voice at the back of his mind as best he could and instead decide what he should do to get the fairies attention. Jose would kill him if he didn't succeed so he needed to do something big. Something that'll get all of the little fairies riled up and ready for plucking wings_. 

The room was dark, shadows stretching long and angry across the room. The window clicked before slowly swinging open. A man pulled themselves inside, purple and black slowly fading from their hand. In the other was a gun. The man looked across the room at the single bed. A tall man lay there, whimpering slightly in the drug induced state he found himself in. The man walked over to the bed, standing over one of his former guild members. He scanned over the younger male, teeth grinding together. He pulled out the gun from its holster that had been given to him and pointed it at the head of the slayer. The dragon slayer whimpered slightly when the barrel touched the side of his head but no form of movement to prevent the gun from being fired. Jose watched him for a little longer before pulling the gun away. He couldn't shoot something so rare and priceless. He had worked hard to get this creature under his control and he wasn't about to kill all his hard work with a single bullet. But he did need to get him out of the hospital. If any tests were ran on him then the slayer could be done for that way. The former saint looked at what he was hooked up to and sneered. He wouldn't need that. He walked up to the wall and pulled the sockets out of the wall. They all shut down, leaving the dragon slayer coughing slightly from the sudden cut in the air he was being provided. A several phantom soldiers wrapped themselves around the dragon slayer, hoisting him up for their creature. Jose easily controlled them to where he wanted, jumping out the window after him.


	28. Chapter 28

Gajeel woke up and the first thing he took note of was that he was on a very thin mattress. He sat up, stomach aching with pain. He looked, finding a bandages coated in blood wrapped around the source of the pain. Fuzzy memories came rushing back and he looked around the room frantically. He was in a cell. One he quickly recognized from the scent of infection and death. The holding cells below one of the Phantom branches. But how. They had been taken down and Jose was in jail. Had someone taken residence in the guild hall. He looked over at the door. No way of looking through that solid door. He went to stand before hearing clattering metal. He turned. Chains attached to his wrists and ankles. He was definitely someone's hostage or just a prisoner. Either didn't work for him. He tried to bite into one of the chains but his teeth couldn't sink in. An enchantment.  
"If yer gonna do somethin' with me then come do it you ass" he yells but has no idea if anyone hears him.By the long silence that follows, he guesses that no one can. But that also no one is standing guard. Not that it matters. He reach the door with these chains and so long as they're on him, his magic is useless. The locked door makes him uncomfortable. Especially in such a recognizable room. He hated when he had to come down here. The stench always got him, almost made him throw up on impact. Totomaru and Juvia thought it was bad. They should try having his nose. With nothing else to do, Gajeel tugs on the chains that are holding him but gets no results. Then he hears a door open, followed by footsteps. Someone was coming. He turns to look at the door, ears listening to the footsteps as they approached. He could take this idiot who thought they could keep a dragon hostage. The door clicks, letting him know the lock was undone. The second his eyes lie on the person on the other side of the door, his entire resolve crumbles. It was him. A smirk spreads across the other man's face.   
"Its been a while since I saw so much dread come onto your face in a second" he chuckles, stepping forward. Words caught in the dragon slayer's throat.   
"You seem surprised. Surely those drugs didn't make you so disorientated that you forgot about our encounter last night" he chuckles, bending down in front of the dragon slayer. When he gets no response, he smirks, thumb running along his jaw line.   
"Its a shame that you got away. You were so much fun to play with" he whispers. It sends chills down Gajeel's spine.  
"Well, I'm actually grateful Porla brought you hear instead of killing you. Means I have longer to mess you up before tossing your body aside" he chuckles. The mage gulps. Jose was here too. And he was working together with Silas.   
"I might even let him have some fun with you too. He seems desperate for a good old _talk_ with you after all" Silas explains. Shit. Talks weren't good. Not those kind. They ended too ways. Small pain in his ass or a lot of pain all over. He couldn't tell which one it was and he didn't know which terrified him more. Silas stood again, brushing some hair out of his face.   
"I think I'll wait a little longer before doing anything. I know the _anticipation_ will kill you" he chuckles before turning his back. He closed the door and the click let Gajeel know that it was locked once again. He was trapped. He looked at his hands which were trembling.   
"Why the hell are they working together. They've never come in contact" he hisses to himself. Maybe they both chose to team up to deal with him. Gajeel had enough incriminating information on both of them to get them both life sentences. It would make sense that they'd want him gone. And what the hell did both of them have planned for him. Was it just going to be physical torture. Both of them breaking him till he couldn't fight them when he's ultimately killed. No. That's not Silas' thing. If Silas wanted to just cause him pain, he would have finished the job already. He had been vulnerable for a long time. The more accurate option was that they, or at least Silas wanted to break him mentally before killing him. That made more sense. But what would they do for that. Bring up memories he wanted to suppress or something else. Sex instantly came to min and he wrapped his arms around himself. If either of them ever tried to touch him like that again, he would probably shut down. Or have a panic attack or mental breakdown. That's what happened when he was drugged up after all. He curled up in on himself, hands over his head. He just wanted this nightmare to be over.


	29. Chapter 29

The two dragon slayers approached the hospital where Gajeel had been. They walked in, some people staring at them and others noticing the red insignia apn the fire slayer's arm. Both men ignored the stares and continued to the stairs. Since they knew were there the previous night, they knew where they were going. Laxus was prepared to knock on the door when the smaller male busted the door down.   
"Gajeel. How you feeling?" he yelled nto the room. The dark haired mage turned to them with a confused look.  
"Calm down Natsu. Do you want to burst his eardrums?" the lightning mage pointed out to his partner. The salmon haired male just crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out. Both then turned to Gajeel.   
"Sorry we didn't come sooner. Gramps wanted to know why you weren't with us at the guild this morning" the blond explained.   
"Alright but mind explaining what happened?" the slayer asks, fiddling with a few strands of hair.   
"Damm, those drugs really messed you up huh?" Natsu stated, lowering his arms.   
"Well, you went to the bathroom and when you didn't come back we went to check on you but you were gone. Found you in the woods before you were shot by someone" Laxus explained.   
"I was wondering why I felt sluggish. Must have used up my iron supply to heal the wounds" he explained.   
"You can do that. Can you teach me" Natsu begs while the older mage just sighs with a shake of his head.   
"Doctors said I can be released today or tomorrow since I've all but recovered" he explains, looking at the hospital gown he was wearing.   
"That's good news. Thought you'd be in worse condition to be honest" the lightning mage explained. Gajeel didn't say anything, turning his gaze on the bottom of the bed.   
"You sure everything's alright?" Laxus asks. He only receives a nod. Both dragon slayers sigh but say nothing. Natsu runs over with a wide grin on his face. "I'm excited for when you get out of here again. We can go on missions, even if your magic is cut off" the pinkette mentions, smile wide on his face.   
"Sounds good. Been dying to get back to missions" the Iron slayer responds, meeting the other's gaze. Natsu furrowed his brows. Something was off about the other slayer's eyes but he couldn't quite place it. He chose to ignore it, swinging back and forth between the balls and heels of his feet. Laxus walked over, fiddling with his coat for a second before turning to the iron slayer.   
"Since we're alone. We wanted to just ask a few questions" he explained, pulling a chair over and dropping into it.   
"Like what?"   
"The marks you gave us when you bit us. Do you know anything about them?" Natsu asks, showing the fully blossomed mark on the back of his hand. Gajeel shook his head.   
"Don't know anything about why or how? I know it happens when I bite people and that it differs but that's about it. Couldn't explain much else" he explains.   
"You really don't remember last night?" the fire mage asks, a sad look in his eyes. Gajeel shakes his head again.   
"Totomaru and Juvia were there. They said you were having a panic attack" Laxus explained.   
"Raindrop and Fire Prince" the slayer mumbles. Natsu opened his mouth but was cut off by a hand on his shoulder. The older mage looked at him and shook his head gently. He closed his mouth again, opting to look at his hands as he pulled at his wristband. It was quiet, no one saying a word about anything.


	30. Chapter 30

Gajeel sat huddled up in the corner of his cells, hands over his ears and head against his knees. How long had he been here now? He couldn't tell. There was no windows. The room was pitch black. He was hungry and sore. The wounds having opened up from movement and begun to feel tingly. Footsteps from outside alerted him and he lifted his head. The door unlocked and in walked Silas, a smile wide on his face.   
"Hello Redfox" he smirked, hand running over the handle of a whip. The dragon slayer's eyes fell upon it.   
"I think I've left you alone long enough. Besides, I'm itching for a good time" he chuckled, stepping closer to the other male.   
"S-stay back" Gajeel whimpered, unable to keep his voice steady. The older man chuckled, croutching down in front of the other man and leaning forward on his feet. His hand snapped the whip up, wrapping it around the slayer's neck, using it to pull him forward. He could feel his breath, smell everything coming off him in waves. Before he could react, he was pushed to the ground, a quick sting hitting his arm. He hissed out, looking at his arm which had a dark red mark running across it. He pushed himself up before being pinned back down on the ground.   
"I'm the master here and your going to do exactly what I tell you to do" Silas laughs, wrapping the whip around the Iron slayer's neck once again. Gajeel reached up to the whip but promptly had his hand pulled away using the chain. Silas rolled him over so they were facing each other. He reached forward, pulling the chains attached to his wrists up, trapping the black haired male with his arms above his head.   
"Please...... Don't" he whimpers, voice shaking. His jaw is grabbed harshly and forced to look at him.   
"Not happening. I want to hear you moan before I'm done with you" he chuckled, running a hand down to the hem of his underwear. The dragon slayer squirmed, hitting his knee up to try and hit Silas. Silas was prepared and pushed his leg back down, slamming his hand down on it and receiving a pained cry from the slayer.  
"So sensitive" he chuckles, tugging on the whip and causing pain in the back of his neck. Silas leaned forward, one hand placed on Gajeel's chest and the other still holding the whip. He trailed to the younger's jaw, nipping at the skin of his jaw line, getting a surprised whine from him. This time he bit harder, drawing small droplets of blood. Gajeel gasped, gaze only seeing the locks of the older man. He struggled against the chains but it had no effect. The whip was tugged once again, surprising the dragon slayer.   
"Now now. I already told you. I'm in charge" he reminds him.   
"Please. Stop" he begs, eyes feeling hot and wet.  
"Come now Redfox. I've barely done anything" he chuckles, hand trailing down the other's chest and stomach till it was back at the hem of his trousers. He reached his hand into them, grabbing a hold of his member and receiving a gasp from him. The slayer pleaded more before an unwanted moan escaped when his head was stroked by the other's thumb.   
"I'd say your enjoying it. You slut" he chuckles, continuing the action. Gajeel shook his head. His body was reacting against the wishes of his mind. He didn't want this but his body was craving it. Silas pulled his hand back, focusing on unbuttoning his shirt and letting it slip off his shoulders, the angry mark resting just below his neck in sight. A black aconite that had limp, shattered wings hanging down from the flower which was dripping like ink. Silas smirked.   
"So you remember it do you? The mark you gave me. It's very lovely. I don't think I would ever get it removed. It's a sign of everything I've done to you I'd say" he chuckles, running a finger across the mark.   
"Your mark however-" he starts, eyes flicking towards the black guild mark on his shoulder.   
"Is something I can't stand. You really think your a fairy. As if. No one will come looking for you because they don't care" he laughs, reaching into the pocket of his jeans. Gajeel shook his head, knowing what was coming and couldn't stop it. Silas bent forward, knife in hand. The silver blade -one of his own made with his magic- dug into the skin just a little off his guild mark. Silas slowly dragged the blade across his skin, taking the skin and mark with it. Gajeel cried out from the pain, blood dribbling down from his shoulder and onto his chest and back. Silas leaned back, twirling the bloodied blade in hand before forcing it into the slayer's leg, hitting bone and forcing him to howl in pain. With that satisfaction, he began removing his trousers, tossing them to the side before running his hands up the slayer's chest.   
"I think it's about time we finish this. I have ample time to play with you after all" he chuckles, pulling at the other's boxers. Despite Gajeel's protest, they were pulled down to his ankles, the chains on his legs preventing them from being removed completly. Silas wrapped his hand around his member, stroking the head again, receiving a reaction from the dragon slayer in the form of moans. He let go again, removing his own underwear. Gajeel closed his eyes and bit his lip. He didn't want to see but he could see it all perfectly in his mind. His teeth sunk into his lip harder when Silas entered him, begining to get into a rhythm. He didn't want to give him satisfaction. Kept quiet. Until a certain spot was hit and he couldn't hold back the moan or the cum. Silas chuckled, getting to his feet and dusting off his hair. He said nothing. Instead he put his clothes back on and removed the whip from Gajeel's neck. He let the chains fall loose again before walking towards the door with a chuckle and a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of this new writing structure. I find it better but some feedback would be nice


	31. Chapter 31

The guild was it's standard level of noisy when the three dragon slayers walked in. Gajeel looked around, one hand reaching up and running through his hair before he stepped out of the way of someone being knocked over towards the entrance of the guild Hall. Gray ran forward, the argument about his missing shirt being quickly forgotten as he faced Natsu.   
"Natsu you bastard. I know what you did to my breakfast" he spat at the fire mage, head connecting with the other's forehead.   
"What's wrong ice breath, can't handle a little heat" the pink haired teen replied, shar teeth showing. The two were quickly pulled into a fight, dust and magic flying in every direction as the two dragon slayers watched on. Footsteps beside Gajeel alerted him and he turned, jumping slightly with how close the rain mage had suddenly gotten.   
"R-raindrop. What ya doing?" he asked, giving a nervous smile.   
"Juvia is confused how Gajeel got out of hospital so quickly after he received those injuries" she explained, hands held behind her back and gaze occasionally flicking towards the ice mage of her affections.   
"Oh just some good old quick healing thanks to the iron I'd eaten prior to the whole drugging thing. No big deal" the slayer explained. That caught the attention of the taller mage, noting that the iron slayer hadn't eaten any iron for an entire week before the incident since he had been banned from touching the cutlery after eating it once. Juvia's brows furrowed into a confused look before waltzing over to Laxus.   
"Could Juvia speak with Laxus for a minute"   
"Alone" the only response was a nod. The lightning mage sighed heavily but followed the younger mage out of the guild. She still didn't say anything, leading him away from crowds until they were alone at the edge of Magnolia.   
"This is a bit far from the guild, don't you think"   
"Juvia couldn't risk anyone overhearing" she responded, gripping at the hem of her dress.  
"So what's so important that we had to come all the way out here"   
"Surely Laxus noticed it too" Laxus raised an eyebrow at her.   
"What, that Gray asnt wearing a shirt? As far as I'm concerned, that's not important" Juvia shook her head at the dragon slayer's objection.  
"Juvia means Gajeel. Did Laxus not notice?"   
"So he lost some memory of the last week. Its probably the shook-"   
"Gajeel can't quicken his healing process to a single day" Laxus paused.   
"Dragon slayers are fast healers but there is no force in Fiore that could allow one to heal a bullet wound overnight" she objects.   
"Doesn't he eat metal though, bullets tend to be made of metal so that explains it" Juvia shook her head again.   
"If that were the case then the doctors wouldn't have removed a bullet. It would have just disappeared"   
"Maybe they removed it before it got the chance" Laxus objected, shoving his hands into his pockets.   
"Gajeel didn't have a scar on his jaw like the doctor said. Gajeel was also acting different. Too jumpy. Like he didn't hear Juvia approaching"   
"What are you saying"   
"Gajeel always knows when Juvia approaches him. He smells her and hears her. He always knows when someone is approaching unless something has blocked his senses"  
"So then you think-"   
"The Gajeel in the guild Hall isn't the real Gajeel" she says his thoughts aloud, hands gripping tighter onto the skirt of her dress.   
"We have to warn everyone. Whoever that is could harm everyone in the guild"   
"NO" Juvia said sternly, lifting her head to make eye contact with the lightning mage.   
"What do you mean no. Everyone in the guild could be in danger"  
"Juvia doesn't think so. If they wanted to attack the guild, why go through the trouble of swapping out Gajeel. Juvia thinks that all of this is connected to Gajeel. He's gotten involved in something or knows sensitive information that can't be leaked"   
"So we just demand the information from the fake" Juvia let out a sigh.   
"Laxus isn't getting it. We don't know what the status of Gajeel is and we can't be sure he won't be killed if we expose the imposter"  
"We don't even know if he's alive. So why don't we get him" Laxus growled. This person was a risk to all of them. Juvia once again shook her head.   
"Gajeel is alive. Why would someone go to the trouble of putting in a decoy if they could just toss the body aside and let someone find it. He's alive and until its known where Gajeel is, Juvia recommends not doing anything hasty" Juvia explained.   
"So what do we do if we aren't beating answers out of that bastard"   
"Juvia will get Totumaru and scout out all possible locations a large group could be holding Gajeel while Laxus keeps an eye on the fake"   
"How do you know its a large group. It could be a small one"   
"There has to be a decent number of members for a job like this. It would be strange if they left someone like Gajeel unguarded. Anyone could enter and get him out" she explained. The older mage ran a hand through his hair, eyes screwed tight.   
"Alright, You have a point. I'll talk to Natsu about-"   
"You can't tell him. Natsu is more rash than Laxus. He will attack without hesitation and could cause Gajeel more harm then good" the water mage warned. Laxus bit his lip but agreed. This was only to keep the other slayer safe while his location and keepers were still unknown


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It just came to my attention that I posted this chapter on Wattpad a couple weeks ago but forgot to post it here so it's just been sitting, waiting for me to copy it over. Whoops my bad.

Gajeel sat in the corner, trying to remain in the blind spot of the camera in his cell. Silas was a sick bastard and he knew this but still the discovery of the camera disturbed him. He never remembered there being a camera in the cells before. If there had been then why did Jose always feel the need to have prisoners checked up on regularly. And if they hadn't been installed before then why now, Not many people knew the sick, twisted side of the former phantom lord guild master. He barely showed any of that side during the battle with Fairy tail. Gajeel knew better than anyone what Jose was truly like but there's no way that he could get of on his pain and misery. And if he was truly here, then why hadn't the iron slayer seen him yet. He'd been here for what was most likely weeks. Silas continually popped down between long breaks, probably three or four days. He'd come down and have his way. Every second visit he'd bring a small scrap of food and water was brought to him frequently enough so that he wouldn't die of starvation or dihydration but the small scraps he was given didn't fix the knawing hunger in his stomach. It was one of the awful parts about being down here. Silas was just marking him with bruises, cuts and the like every visit. Most of the injuries weren't of his own doing, the scratches just below the cuffs on his wrists and ankles were. They irritated his skin to no end, at least the one Fairy tail made hm where were comfortable. These ones felt like insects were crawling under his skin and gave him the need to scratch, a lot. It didn't help that his nails were growing sharper and longer as time passed. He just wanted out of this place before it drove him insane. He laughed at that, shoulders shaking from the action. It was funny to him. He was worried about going insane. Was he even sane to begin with? He heard voices in the silence and was hung up on stupid shit from when he was a kid. Gajeel didn't think he could even be called sane before he was brought here. He was a mess, a broken toy that no longer served its designated purpose. That was probably why he was down here. He had ran away from Silas when the medication stunt failed and he completly abandoned Phantom and his former ideals by joining the enemy. He'd fucked up. Jose and Silas had been kind enough to provide stuff for him and he did that. Yeah they used him for stuff he wasn't comfortable with but that was fine. It was their payment. Gajeel gripped at his hair, leaning his head down into his knees when he heard a loud creak and two voices speaking. Was it the guard shift already? The footsteps approached his cell and the clicking sound of the lock that followed put him on high alert, ears open but he never raised his head. Scents washed into the room but they weren't Silas'. They were too bitter. Too dark. He lifted his and almost choked on his own tongue. Jose really was here. He really was working with Silas. The door closed with a rosounding slam. He turned to look at the young slayer, a hint of something sinister flashing in his eyes.   
"Gajeel. Its been too long" he smiles, stepping forward but never bending down. Gajeel kept his mouth shut as to not betray anything. Jose continued speaking.   
"I heard you joined the fairies. Now why would you go and align yourself with such garbage" he sneered, looking down at his former ace. The slayer bit back any kind of retort. Showing weakness in front of Jose was like bleeding in a pool filled with sharks. He would sniff it out and take you out without a single hesitation.   
"You were always so obidiant. It seems Totumaru and Juvia rubbed off on you. I never had as strong of a grip on them as I had on you" he states, tucking on one of Gajeel's chains.   
"I'll only ask this once. How would you feel about joining phantom lord again. With a few more people gathered and Silas' men working under me, we can squish Fairy tail once and for all" he explains. Gajeel bared his teeth in a snarl.   
"Like hell I'd join phantom Lord again. You can ask until your begging on the ground but my answer won't change. I'm part of fairy tail and that's final" he stared Jose directly in the eye as he spoke, not turning his attention away once.   
"Fine then" he responds. Gajeel thinks he's won and they'll at best let him go and at worst just leave him alone down here but instead Jose pushes something into his stomach, leaving him coughing on blood.   
"Well then Gajeel, it looks like your final resting place will be this cell" he explains before standing up.   
"And right now your going to feel more pain then you already have"


	33. Chapter 33

It was around 11pm when the water mage met up with the other member of the element four at his house. He let her in, dropping down at the table where a map of Fiore was spread out across the table. She sat opposite him, looking at the map that had crosses dotting across different places.   
"Has Totumaru found anything new?" she asks. He shakes his head.  
"I wish it didn't have to come to this but we should check the old phantom guild Hall" he suggests, gesturing to the map where the guild Hall sat.   
"B-but-" the water mage shut her mouth.   
"I don't want to go back there anymore than you do but we don't have much choice. We need to find Gajeel and an abandoned guild Hall is entirely possible" he explains. She sighs.   
"Has Totomaru heard the rumors?" she asks. He looks at her.   
"About Jose. Juvia heard some people saying he broke out of his cell" she explains.   
"Shit. That's not good"   
"They're just rumors so Juvia doesn't know how true they are" she adds on. Totomaru pushes himself to his feet.   
"We can deal with it later. Let's go check out the old hall" he assures her. She stands up, looking around the room. Totomaru grabs onto his jacket, pulling it on and walking to the back door.   
"We'll just sneak out the back" he tells the water mage, using his keys to unlock the door. She silently nods, getting up and following the fire user. The two slowly stalked their way up to the guild Hall at the top of the town, using the shadows to their advantage. They reached the old guild Hall and slipped inside, quickly ducking behind the bar counter to avoid being seen. Footsteps approached and both went still to keep from being found.  
"So Canter, how's it going?" a female voice asked.   
"Boring. All the faires do is yell and fight. I'm going to go death before I leave that place" a rough voice grumbles. The two mages look at each other before peaking over the bar to look. Gajeel was stood with two other people. The male sat himself down on one of the tables.   
"So when you gonna get rid of the bastard so I can just leave. I'm tired of listening to the pink haired one's voice. He's too loud" 'Canter' grumbled, leaning against another table.   
"Don't fret. You'll be done soon. I nearly have him begging for death. then I'll kill him but not before" the other male objects.   
"And how's Porla doing with this?"   
"He's at least helping. He's realised that he isn't getting his ace back so he's helping me kill him"   
"I heard him say something along the lines of, 'if I can't have him then the faires sure as hell aren't'. Don't know why but oh well" the girl snorted, flicking his hair.   
"Either way, can't wait to see the slut's dead body" All three laughed. Totomaru curled his fist, eyes narrowing but Juvia grabbed his shoulder to stop him from attacking them. She looked at him and conveyed a silent message. Both of them stayed put until the group of three finally decided to leave the room and find somewhere else to go.   
"That was a waste of time. All we learned was that he is here but we have no idea where" Totomaru hissed.   
"Juvia thinks that Totomaru and Juvia should look around" Totomaru sighs but agrees, begining to walk around the guild Hall. One room had its door slightly open. The two mages looked at each other before entering the room. The room itself had several monitors that were showing different areas of the guild hall.   
"Look, it's Gajeel" Juvia points out, gesturing to one camara that was clearly positioned in a cell. In a corner was the iron slayer, chained up and slightly curled in on himself.   
"This seems too easy. There's on one watching the cameras. That isn't slightly suspicious to you?" Totomaru asks, raising an eyebrow.   
"Your smarter than I took you for" someone chuckles. Both mages turn to the source of the voice.   
"Silas" Juvia spoke in shock, looking at the man in front of them.   
"I'm touched that you remember me?" he smiled with a smirk.   
"Move you bastard" Totomaru demanded. He recieved a snort in return.   
"You really think I'm just going to let you go with this information? I'm not stupid. Now why don't you tell me who else knows about this?" he speaks.   
"Like hell we would you bastard" the fire mage yelled, sending a blast of fire towards the man. Instead of hitting him though, it bounces off an invisible barrier and returns back to the two mages, knocking the fire user off his feet and into the table behind him. Someone walks up behind him, looking at the both of them. She steps forward slightly and closes her eyes for a second before turning to Silas.   
"Only one other person knows. His name's Laxus Dreyar" she responds.   
"The Fairy master's grandson. Well then. We'll have him brought here too. Good thing it's only one other person. If too many people knew then it would be a nightmare.   
"Juvia won't let Silas get away with this" she snapped. Silas smirked before his appearance slowly changed to match hers.   
"You underestimate me. Take both of them down stairs and have them chained up. Don't want them telling anyone about this" he commands. A couple more people have arrived and are now grabbing onto the water mage while the girl grabs the back of Totomaru's shirt, kneeling him in the face to keep him down before dragging him across the floor. Both mages were thrown into separate cells, having enchanted no magic cuffs placed on their wrists and ankles before being left alone in their cells. Their lan hadn't gone how it was supposed to go.


	34. Chapter 34

The lightning mage stood in the kitchen of his house. He was on edge, especially when he'd seen 'Gajeel' leave the house without even as much as a note about his whereabouts. Natsu was staying at his own house with Happy so Laxus was alone. This wasn't the first time he'd been struggling to sleep. It had been like this since he found out Gajeel had been swapped out for someone else nearly two months ago. A knock on the door alerted him and brought his attention to the door. Another knock followed up. The lightning mage walked towards the door and was greeted with the water mage who looked out of breath.   
"Juvia? What's going on?" he asks, looking around.   
"No time. Laxus needs to come with Juvia incase Laxus' house is bugged" she explains, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him out of the house.   
"Woah. Hold on. I've not even changed yet" he objected but she kept dragging him away from his house and towards the trees that outlined one edge of Magnolia.  
"Juvia and Totomaru found Gajeel but they got Totomaru. Juvia needs Laxus' help" she told him, bringing him into the trees.   
"You did. Where is he then? Is he alright?" the lightning mage asked, now taking the lead through the trees. He received no answer. He stopped in his tracks.   
"Juvia?" he asks, not turning around to face her. Something wasn't right. He looked around but the trees were blocking any moonlight from reaching them. He was blind in the Darkness, especially without the nose that the other dragon slayers possessed. He was hit in the back with an attack and turned to look, letting lightning cover his body and illuminate the surrounding area. Someone was standing opposite him but it wasn't Juvia.   
"And who are you?" he demands.   
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Silas" he smirks, doing a mock bow.   
"Gajeel's ex" the lightning mage growled. He then sent a lightning bolt towards him. The lightning sparks before it curves sharply and hits Laxus in turn, leaving a slight tingling feeling on his arm where he was hit. He hissed slightly.   
"I've heard about you. Your a dragon slayer right" he states. Laxus looks at him with a glare.   
"Come on now. You really think I spent 5 years just cuddling with the dragon. As if. I gave him a false sense of love and in turn he gave me information. Although he didn't know about it of course" he chuckled.   
"You bastard"   
"No need for name calling now. I'm trying to make this easy for both of us. Either come quietly or this'll have to get ugly" he offered.   
"Like hell I'd let someone as disgusting as you take me anywhere" the lightning mage yelled.   
"Suit yourself. Cantar!" he yells. Something moves behind Laxus and he's hit on the back of the head with a boot. He stumbles forward before turning to see 'Gajeel'.   
"So your name's Canter" the dragon slayer grumbled.   
"Yeah, it's not been fun staying in your place. I'll be glad to be there alone" Canter chuckles. Lightning sparks around the mage.   
"Don't think I'll hold back just because you look like him" he states before hitting Canter with a burst of lightning on the leg. He hissed out of pain, looking at the scorched leg. Laxus pushes himself forward, hitting him with another attack. A spike through his shoulder alerted him to an attack and he stumbled back, looking to the wound that was oozing blood. He looks back at Canter who turned his hand back to normal.   
"Wait. That's Gajeel's magic" he objects.   
"Surprised? That's just how I roll. You really think that I would pretend to be someone and not copy their magic? I'd get caught faster than a rabbit with its tail on fire" he chuckled, transforming his arm again and sending an iron sword at Laxus. Laxus narrowly dodged the attack, skidding across the ground. He went to attack but something grabbed his legs and kept him grounded.   
"What the hell" he hissed. Silas turned to look at something.   
"So you finally decided to show up instead of sitting on your ass doing nothing" he spoke.   
"I was talking with those two mages but they have made their decision" the other responded, stepping into the dull light.   
"Jose" Laxus hissed, glaring at him.   
"Whatever old man. Don't you have some trick that can weaken mages. Use it on him" Canter spoke, gesturing to Laxus. Jose looked at the lightning slayer.   
"Your Makarov's grandson" he states.   
"So you helped take Gajeel away you bastard" he spat, lightning sparking around him and snapping in the air around him. Jose waved his hand and a ghostly specter passed through Laxus, causing him to stumble and fall onto his knees, needing to use his hand to keep him up.   
"I would love to be the one to kill him. It would be the perfect revenge on Makarov, dropping the head of his only grandson onto his Doorstep"   
"Not yet. We're keeping him alive for now. We'll kill all four of them in time but I'm not done playing with our little dragon" Silas objects. He walks towards Laxus, pulling out magic concealing cuffs and slapping them onto his wrists.   
"You might make a fun play thing yet" he smirks, grabbing onto the slayer's chin.   
"Rot in hell" the lightning mage snapped at him.   
"Be careful. We still have the three phantoms and I can order for harm to come to any of them at any moment" he Chuckled. Laxus went quiet, if only to protect the three mages that were being held captive.


	35. Chapter 35

Natsu perked up when he noticed Gajeel enter the room, bouncing to his feet and running over.   
"Gajeel, I thought we could go on a job together. We could even bring Laxus" he asks, bouncing on his feet.   
"I think I'm good for now" he replies, limping over to the bar and sitting down.   
"What happened to your leg? And where's Laxus?" the fire mage asked loudly, bringing a lot of attention towards them. Gajeel coughed into his hand.   
"We had a slight disagreement last night. He's staying in the house to cool off" he replies, scratching his neck. Natsu lowers his eyebrows, looking down at the ground.   
"I thought you weren't fighting anymore after Fantasia" he objects.   
"Like I said, it was just a disagreement that got a little out of hand" he replies. Gray walks over, looking around the guild.   
"Hey Mira, did Juvia come into the guild today?" he asks.   
"Not yet. Why are you missing her?" the white haired demon teases.   
"No. I was just wondering why I wasn't being watched yet" he objects.   
"She's probably at Tot-Fire prince's house. They do that sometimes" Gajeel replies, leaning against the bar.   
"Well then just tell me where his house is and I can go see if she is there" Natsu replies, bouncing on his feet.   
"No!" the iron slayer snaps, leaning forward before coughing into his hand when he gets questioning looks from the guild members.   
"She'll be busy if she's with him. Most likely something private" he covers, placing one arm on the bar counter behind him.   
"Oh, Gajeel, you're here" Freed points out, walking over to the small group of three after entering the guild Hall.   
"So where's Laxus?" Bickslow asks, his babies chanting the name of the lightning mage.   
"He's at home. Gajeel said he's cooling off after a fight" Natsu replied. All three members of the Thunder Legion looked at him.   
"Laxus wasn't at his house. We went to check ourselves when he didn't show up at his usual time and the house was empty" Freed replies, turning his gaze onto Gajeel. Gajeel quickly gets to his feet, coughing into his hand.   
"I'll just go see what happened. He was there when I left" he chuckles before a sword is pushed up to his neck by the green haired mage.   
"Freed, what are you doing?" someone across the guild asks, noticing what was going on.   
"What did you do with Laxus?" the rune mage demands, hand gripping the hilt tighter.   
"I did nothing"   
"Then explain why you have those injuries which I presume are from Laxus" he snaps at him. Gajeel lifts his hand up and knocks the sword away with his hand. He turns on his feet and runs as fast as he could out the guild Hall.   
"He's guilty. He wouldn't have ran off like that if he wasn't" he explained.   
"He knows where Laxus is and he might have done the same to Juvia. Let's go. Natsu, we'll need your nose" Bickslow adds on. A group consisting of team Natsu and the Thunder Legion began to follow the scent trail of the slayer.   
"I should have known we couldn't trust him after everything he did" Erza states, giving an angry stare to the ground ahead of her.   
"No. This can't be right. Gajeel would never do something like this" Natsu objects, looking down as he ran.   
"You barely knew him Natsu. Don't get beat up that he turned back to his phantom ways again" Lucy assures him. They finally reach a hill which dips down into a ditch. Standing in the ditch was a group of people. Erza commands for everyone to duck and sneak around so they can hear better.   
"You did use the tranquillisers on these three right? One of them isn't going to jump up and attack because we had to rush things" someone demanded.   
"Of course sir" one of them replies.  
"Sil- Sir. I don't know if I was followed but we need to be quick before any mages find us" Gajeel explained, looking up towards the hill.   
"He really did betray us" Gray hissed.   
"Oi, old man. You wanted to kill the lightning slayer so here's a gun. But be quick. There are still three of them left" a hooded figure states, throwing a gun at someone else.   
"Babies. Go interrupt the bullet" Bickslow orders, sending the little dolls towards the group. The gun was fired but the bullet hit one of the dolls instead of the blond that was lying unconsious in the mud.   
"What?" Gajeel yelled before being hit with a large hammer made of ice. He slipped back in the mud, steadying himself.   
"So you thought you could get away with betraying Fairy tail" Gray spat.   
"Wait guys, look" Lucy yelled, gesturing over to a dark haired figure who lay in the dirt. He looked towards them slightly, red eyes staring right at the fire slayer.   
"Two Gajeel's? Which one's the real one?" the fire user asks, looking back and forth.   
"The one over there, obviously" Evergreen points out.   
"Canter, keep them distracted so we can finish this off" the hooded one demands.   
"Now old man" he demands, gesturing to the lightning slayer. Something grabbed the gun, pushing it upward and hitting the one holding it where his ear was. The mask he was wearing was knocked off, revealing his face.   
"Jose!" Erza snapped, looking at the former guild master. Everyone turned towards the sight. Gajeel, now covered with dragon features, had used a tail to push the gun upward to avoid it hitting Laxus. The iron slayer had his teeth exposed in a snarl, tail pulling back and resting next to him. He was trying to push himself up onto his feet but kept falling back down.   
"Shoot him before he gets his hands on some metal" the hooded one demands. Natsu pauses for a second.  
"Erza. I need one of your swords" he demands.   
"What?"   
"Please. Its important" he pleads. She hands him a sword to which the fire mage throws it at Gajeel, narrowly missing his muzzle. The iron slayer sniffs it for a second before sinking his teeth into the metal and gulping it down.   
"Dragon slayers gain strength by eating their element" Natsu tells the group, letting his hand cover in flames.   
"And Gajeel has just had a good snack"


	36. Chapter 36

The Iron slayer finished off the sword, tongue swiping over his teeth before he pushed himself onto his hands and feet. Before Jose could react, Natsu leapt at him pushing him away and knocking the gun onto the ground. He was pushed back by the former wizard Saint, sending him tumbling into the ground.   
"We need to keep them away" Gray yelled to the others, sending ice lances at the hooded figure. He waved his hand and they were sent right back at him, hitting him in the le and causing him to cry out from the pain. He turned away from the dragon slayer and waving his hand again to send the blast from Bickslow's babies back towards them although they moved out of the way before they could be hit. He turned back, ready to flick an attack at the lightning mage but he wasn't there anymore.   
"Where'd he go?" he demanded, trying to find the four mages that had been there prior. He was quickly jumped, teeth sinking into his shoulder and hood falling down.   
"Get off me" he demanded, falling down into the mud and reaching for the uneaten sword hilt. His wrist was stopped by a sword that had been thrown by erza, landing right into his wrist and holding it to the ground. He kicked Gajeel off and reached for the sword with his other hand, pulling it out of his wrist. The iron slayer ran at him again but was kicked back followed with a slice to his shoulder from the sword.   
"Metal won't kill you but blood will"  
"Gajeel" the fire mage yelled, turning towards them. Silas looked at the mage before quickly running over, pinning the sword to the slayer's neck. Gajeel halted in the mud right in front of the fire slayer, wings spread out as he did so.   
"What? How did you train him to do that?!" Jose demanded before being hit with a giant fist. He turned to look. Makarov had approached the group now and he was staring right at Jose.   
"So the rumours are true. You did escape from prison"   
"Makarov. You really think this is my doing" the former phantom chuckles.   
"You kidnapped my grandson and two of my guild members. You won't get away with it this time" he snapped, eyes narrowing at him. The former guild master turned towards Silas who was still holding onto the fire dragon slayer.   
"How about this, anyone so much as moves right now and I'll slice this teen's neck open" he threatens, sword pressing closer to the skin on the dragon slayer's neck, drawing a small bit of blood. Natsu lights his hands on fire only for the fire to be bounced onto his skin and quickly put out. Gajeel spreads out his wings, letting out roars and other noises while staring right at the sword.   
"That includes you dragon" he snaps, taking a tighter hold of the fire slayer who stilled in his struggles of escape to keep his life.   
"Nw. I'll be taking my- ow" he screamed out, looking to his arm which the iron slayer was holding onto with his teeth. He dropped the sword which allowed Natsu to kick Silas onto the ground and jump back from his reach. Gajeel dug his teeth deeper into Silas' arm, tugging on it. Silas reached for the sword and pushed it right through the slayer's neck. He staggered back, blood dripping out from his jaws which was accompanied by a gurgling sound. Natsu ran over, removing the sword from the iron slayer's neck who's legs buckled below him and he continued to choke on his own blood. Silas smirked, stumbling to his feet before he was pinned to a tree by Erza, sword being shoved into his shoulder and trapping him there. She turned to look towards the master who was fighting Jose. A loud crack of lightning resounded in the air before striking Jose head on, making him fall to his knees. he was quickly smacked into some rocks by Makarov, knocking him unconscious.   
Everyone turned to see Juvia, Totomaru and Laxus had been moved and were begining to stir.   
"What'd we miss" the fire mage asked, looking towards the fight. Gajeel dropped his head, nearly letting the wound get caked with mud but Natsu caught it, holding the dragon slayer's head up to prevent the wound from getting contaminated.   
"We need to get him help" he points out as the iron slayer slowly lost the iron scales and dragon features which left several piles of scales in the mud.   
"Let's get all of you back to the guild Hall at once. You will all need some patching up" Makarov agreed.   
"Master and I will wait here for the council to collect them" Mira adds on, gesturing to Jose, Silas and his buddies.   
"Alright Master but be careful" Erza agrees.  
"Don't worry Erza. We'll handle it" the master responds, dismissing the mage. The group collected themselves, Natsu pulling Gajeel onto his back and stumbling back to the guild with the iron slayer on his back.


	37. Chapter 37

A Rune knight walked into Makarov's office, bringing the attention of the guild master to him.  
"Do you have information on who that man was?" he asks.  
"Yes. His name is Silas Kelos. We managed to get some information out of some former clients of his that he provided sex to people"  
"So he was a prostitute of sorts" the master asked, looking down at the file in front of him.  
"Yes but there is more. We were able to get most of his companions except one. The people we spoke with described a young boy with black hair and red eyes. You have someone in your Guild that fits a similar description correct?"  
"Well yes but I wouldn't describe him as a young boy. He is 19 after all" Makarov objected, tapping his desk with one finger.  
"The report was said to from at least 4 years all the way to 7 years ago" the rune knight explained.  
"Alright. I'll speak with the boy when he wakes up. Thank you for the information" he told the rune knight. The rune Knight left while Mira entered his office.  
"What was that about?" she asks.  
"It was nothing. Do you think you could get Juvia and her dual haired friend for me" he asks.  
"Yes master" she agrees, leaving him alone in his office. After a few minutes, the two mages he wanted to speak to entered the room.  
"Master wanted to speak to Juvia and Totomaru?" Juvia asks, sitting down in the chair across from him alongside Totomaru.  
"Yes. I wanted to know if you knew anything about that man that wanted to kill the two of you alongside Gajeel and Laxus" he explains.  
"You mean Silas. Yeah, we know him. He's Gajeel's ex from about 4 years ago. Why?" the fire mage asked.  
"I just wanted to know. I was also curious if he ever disappeared for a long period of time?"  
"Juvia does remember Gajeel disappeared for around a year after joining the guild before he appeared again" she explained.  
"Alright, that's all I wanted to know. Thank you" he explains. Both of them go to get up.  
"Oh and young man, what was your name again?" he asks.  
"Me? Oh. I'm Totomaru" he replies.  
"You were one of the element four correct?"  
"Um yeah. But I don't want to be part of that kind of guild again" he replies.  
"Well, Totomaru, how would you feel about joining Fairy tail" the master offers.  
"Master wants Totomaru to join the guild? Oh Totomaru, you have to join. Juvia, Gajeel and Totomaru can be a team again just like in Phantom Lord but now Juvia, Gajeel and Totomaru don't need to pretend not to be friends" she begs, bouncing on her feet.  
"I don't know. Won't it be a bit much if someone else from Phantom Lord suddenly joins the guild" he asks, running his hands through his hair.  
"Don't worry young man. You're as welcome in this guild as Gajeel and Juvia, even if the guild aren't sure about it yet"  
"Alright then. I guess it couldn't hurt"  
"Yes. Totomaru can become a team with Juvia and Gajeel" she laughs happily, still bouncing on her feet.  
"Do you need me to give you some of my information or-"  
"It's alright. I can get your file from the council. Now go downstairs and get your guild mark from Mira" Makarov dismisses the two. Juvia grabs onto the dual haired mage and drags him out of the office and presumably downstairs. When the door closes again, Makarov looks back down at the two files he had in front of him. He first looked at the file he had taken from the guild member folder, reading over the list. Most of the information was filled out. Things such as name, gender, age and any previous affiliations as well as current ones. A couple were registered as unknown such as his parents but that made sense since he had been raised by a dragon like Natsu and Natsu didn't have his parentage filled out either. There was one thing that stood out to the old mage. Under the catagory of species, it was listed as unknown not human or any other species. Unknown. Makarov turned to the second file while had several documentations, photographs and notes. A letter was tapped to the inside with a description of the contents.  
'To Jose Porla

As asked, this folder contains the previous year's findings on the mage Gajeel Redfox. 

From Brain'  
A letter from the guild master of the oracion seiz to the former guild master of phantom Lord. Makarov looked at the photos, showing a young Gajeel, probably around 11 or 12 with the same dragonic features that he had acquired during the battle. Each photo had descriptions attached to them and right down at the bottom on a stapled in posted note were the words.  
'Conclusion. Gajeel Redfox is a half breed consisting of human and dragon DNA'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't not add Totomaru into the guild. Gajeel, Juvia and Totomaru are like a trio to me and I just could not leave the poor guy out of that so now he's in the guild and yes they will form a team and that team will be called The phantoms because why not


	38. Chapter 38

Ears twitched when the young elf picked up on someone's voice. He turned his head. He had heard that voice before. He walked towards it, ears twitching as he walked. He found the source when he saw a kid around the same age as him curled up in a hidden corner. He looks at the snake wrapped around his neck which hisses and turns her head towards the other child.   
"Hello?" the elf asked, ears twitching slightly. The black haired child lifted up his head for a second before hiding it behind a metallic wing. The elf knelt down, hesitation for a second before extending his hand. The black haired boy notices, teeth sinking into the palm of the marron haired boy's hand out of instinct. He quickly released his grip and hid further in his wings.   
"Ow. You didn't need to bite me" the boy grumbles, rubbing his hand on the brown shirt he wore.   
The wings move back slightly, showing a single red eye.   
"You didn't hurt me?" he sounded confused, ears twitching.   
"I'm guessing you're the new guy I've heard about" he states, sitting down on the ground. The black haired boy looks him over before folding the wings on against his back when he'd decided that the marron haired boy wasn't a threat.   
"What are you? I've never seen anything like you" the elf asks.   
"Apparently a dragon-"   
"Wait, you're a dragon? I thought dragons went extinct hundreds of years ago"   
"Metalicana isn't extinct. He'll come back for me. I know he will"   
"Metalicana? Is that you're dad or something?"   
"I dunno. He raised me but I don't think he's my biological dad. I don't remember anything about my parents" he Mumbles.   
"Same. My parents were killed when I was taken by a bunch of guys but i don't remember much beyond that" he explained.   
"So the dragon thing?" the elf adds on.   
"Well, I think I'm only Half dragon since I keep getting called a half breed. I think that's supposed to be a bad thing based on the context they say it in"   
"Hmmm. I think it's kinda cool. Wait, can you speak to snakes?"   
"Why would I be able to speak to snakes?"   
"Oh, I was just hoping you could translate Cubelious for me. I can't hear into her head so I don't know what she's thinking" he replies. He shakes his head.   
"I don't think I got your name?"   
"Oh. I'm Erik. You?"   
"Gajeel Redfox"   
"COBRA! Where are you?" someone yells.   
"Oh, that's me. How about I see you here tomorrow. Its always nice to have someone to talk to in places like this"   
"Alright. I'll see you around then Erik" 

Within an hour of waking up after being unconscious for 12 days, he was greeted by the master.   
"Hello there Gajeel. I see you're healing well" he speaks, sitting in a chair next to him.   
"Yeah I guess. Still hurts like a bitch though" he grumbles.   
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something" he tells the slayer.   
"What?"   
"I've been told that Silas Kelos was at one point your boyfriend" he starts, noticing the iron slayer flinch.   
"Yeah he was I guess"   
"And I have also been informed that you worked alongside him in his sexual work correct?"   
"I don't want to talk about it"   
"Gajeel" the master stated.  
"Alright. I did work for him but it was never my choice. He made me do those things" he Mumbles, looking at his lap.   
"And how did he do that exactly?"   
"He threw me in the cupboard for days without food or water anytime I did something he didn't like or threatened to put me back on the street again" he explained, tugging on his shirt.   
"Alright then Gajeel. I won't tell anyone about this if that's what your worried about. I'll leave you for now, besides, there's some people who have been waiting for you to wake up" he explains, walking out of the infirmary and leaving the Iron slayer alone. All though that didn't last long since two people quickly entered.   
"Gajeel finally woke up" Juvia cheered, pulling Gajeel into a hug  
"Alright Raindrop, please let go of me. Your hurting me" he tells her. He then turns to the dual haired mage.   
"What are you doing here fire Prince?" he asks.   
"Wait, did he not tell you?" The fire mage asks, raising an eyebrow.   
"Tell me what?"   
"Totomaru is now a member of Fairy tail just like Juvia and Gajeel" Juvia smiled, gesturing to the mage in question.   
"Wait, seriously?"   
"Yeah. I also kinda felt peer pressured by a certain mage" he adds on, turning to the blue haired mage.   
"Well Juvia wanted to form a team with Gajeel and Totomaru again. Like in Phantom" she smiled.   
"Yeah, we regestired with the pretty white haired chick downstairs, just need you to agree" Totomaru agrees, waving his hand.   
"When are you not calling women beuatiful" Gajeel snorts.   
"Yeah whatever. Do you wanna join or not?"   
"I guess. It should be allowed since you're both members of the guild. Sure, what did you call the team anyway?"   
"The phantoms" Juvia replied, smiling wide. Gajeel turned his head to the side, gaze growing distant and unfocused.   
"Hey. Don't space out" Totomaru jokes.   
"Oh, right. Sorry. What did you say?"   
"We said that we're heading out. I'm trying to find a new place to move to since Oak Town is a bit of a long travel to Magnolia" Totomaru explains.   
"Oh well then I'll be sure to crash at your new house within a couple of days" Gajeel jokes, smirking wide.   
"Better not ruin my shit. I'll kill you if you do"   
"Whatever fire prince"


	39. Chapter 39

"Why did gramps ask him to come along again?" Gray grumbles, leaning back against the side of the wagon.   
"Wow. I really feel the love coming off you in waves. I'm touched" Gajeel replies sarcastically. He then puts his attention onto Natsu and began poking his check.   
"Could you stop that? You could be hurting him" Lucy Mumbles, tugging on her fingers. Gajeel raises a studded eyebrow.   
"Ah yes. Poking his cheek is killing him. How could I be so cruel" he snorts.   
"Are you always so snarky?" Gray grumbles.   
"I dunno. Am I?" All three mages look at him with an unimpressed look.   
"Hey. You try growing up around asshole then get back to me" he replies. Natsu falls onto his side, head landing in the iron slayers lap.   
"Don't you even think about being sick on me. I'll launch you all the way back to the guild Hall if you do"   
"Violent much" the ice mage snorted, looking to the side.   
"First of all, fuck you, second of all, you can't say shit because you throw each other about half the time I'm in the guild Hall" Gray crossed his arm and rolls his eyes as he turns away. The carriage pulls to a stop.   
"We've arrived" the driver responds. The group get out the carriage with the iron slayer lifting his partner out and onto the ground. They enter the building and are greeted with 4 members of blue pegasus. Gajeel grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms and leaning against the stair banister.   
"Hold on. Aren't you Phantom lord's Kurogane" someone asks. Gajeel looks towards the man who spoke.  
"Yeah. And?" he grumbles ith a shrug. He zones out of the conversation, staring at the wall. He catches a scent and turns to the doorway. That scent. Who did it belong to? He recognized it but in a way that was distant, like he had caught wind of it in a dream. He tilted his body slightly so he could try and see past the Lamia scale members. They moved aside and standing in the doorway was a young girl with long dark blue hair. Gajeel twitched his nose, catching her scent again. She had that slight dragon undertone that Natsu had to him. She had to be a dragon slayer. A small white cat, quite similar to Happy walked in after her. While everyone was waiting for Ichiya to return from the toilet, he walked over to the girl.   
"Hey. You said your name was Wendy right?" he asks.   
"O-oh. Um yes. You were the one who was standing up the back right?" she asks quietly. Gajeel lowers his head.   
"You're a dragon slayer right?" he asks. She looks surprised.   
"How did you know?"   
"Ya have that slight hint of dragon in yer scent" he replies.   
"Wait, are you a dragon slayer too?" she asks, looking hopeful.   
"Yeah. Iron dragon slayer Gajeel Redfox"   
"I'm a sky dragon slayer"   
"I met a sky dragon once. Don't remember much about them but I do remember that they could heal" Wendy bounced on her feet, hands up to her chest.   
"Wow. That's amazing" she smiled. The two were interrupted by everyone being called over. A discussion about the enemy began. Gajeel looked up at the pictures, half listening until one picture popped up.   
"Erik?" he whispered under his breath, looking at the picture of the maroon haired male with a large snake. It couldn't be a coincidence that they looked the same.   
"Oi, what'd ya say this one was called again?" he asks, gesturing to the photo he'd been looking at. Ichiya stuttered for a second.   
"Uh.... Cobra. Why?" he asked.   
"Oh well then this is gonna be a piece of cake" h states, crossing his arms and smirking. The white haired ice mage leans forward.   
"Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?" he asks.   
"No. I'm not jokin'. I have a plan actually"   
"Well then care to share?" Gray asks. Gajeel goes quiet for a second.   
"Nah. Can't be sure no one's listening. His ears are already a pain as it is" he replies, looking upward with a smirk crossing his face. The ice mage turned to Gray.   
"Did you have to bring him along?"   
"You say that like we had much of a choice" gray snapped in retaliation to his old friend.   
"So, before we go. Can we all just agree that I can have these cuffs removed cause I still have them on" Gajeel states, shaking his wrists to emphasise the metal cuffs wrapped around his wrists.   
"Wait, why does your Guild member have magic concealing cuffs on?" Jura asks, looking at the other fairy tail mages.   
"It's gramps' idea. I keep saying we should remove the cuffs but he won't listen to me" Natsu grumbles, crossing his arms and slouching.   
"Yeah, but if you all agree then I can have these things off and I'll be more of an asset with magic rather than without" Gajeel points out.   
"Alright then. You can have them off" Erza decides. Gajeel says a silent yes, clapping his hands together.   
"However they will be put back on the moment this Misson is over" she adds on.   
"Fine, I'll just make the most of being allowed to use my magic now" he explains, holding out his wrists. Natsu pulls out the key and unlocks the cuffs, letting them drop to the floor. The iron slayer rubs his wrists which had a few faint scars across them from when his scales had been pushed into the skin previously.   
"Feels great to have those things off" he states, stretching his arms up.   
"Come on, let's go" the fire slayer yells, running out of the building.   
"What does he think he's doing. We need to stick together" Gray grumbles, running after him.   
"Come on child. We'll fall behind" Carla snaps, grabbing Wendy's hand and pulling her forward.   
"I'm sorry Carla" she apologises before squeaking when she's picked up.   
"Hold on" Gajeel orders, letting her grab onto his shoulders as he picks up the cat and hands her to Wendy.   
"Wh-"   
"We don't want to get seperated so early so, that's what they said so I'm making sure you don't get seperated from the rest of us" he explains, begining to run. Happy flutters his wings to fly next to Gajeel.   
"Wow, that's so nice of you Gajeel but I can protect them myself" he objects, holding a long stick.   
"Just shut up before I rip your ears off and tell Salamander that they got caught on a tree branch" he snaps. Happy cries out, covering his ears.   
"Natsu wouldn't let you" he whimpers.   
"He ain't here though" happy cries out again.   
"Would you actually do that?" Wendy asks, leaning her head over his shoulder.   
"Nah but I wanted him to be quiet" he replies with a chuckle, catching up with the others. Gajeel stops back a bit from the group, putting Wendy down behind a rock while crouching himself.   
"Stay here" he orders. He looks around the rock, examining the battlefield before spotting who he was looking.   
"Found ya" he whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally on the oracion seiz arc. I've been looking forward to this arc for a while. I'll admit it's because Cobra is one of my Fav dragon slayers and I've been desperate to introduce him already and he'll be coming into the next chapter. Yay


	40. Chapter 40

Gajeel slowly snuck out of his position, approaching the marron haired mage with caution. He snuck up behind him and stood fully. The mage turned around and Gajeel side stepped in the opposite direction that he did. Cobra turned again and the iron slayer moved again. This repeated for a few minutes before the iron slayer grabbed the waist of the smaller male and pulling him back. Both tumbled backwards and fell down onto a lower ledge from their previous stance. Cubelious hit her head on the way down, slumping down unconscious. Cobra got to his feet, staring at the iron slayer with anger.  
"What the fuck was that?" he hissed out, eyes narrowed.   
"I just want to talk with you Erik. I promise its important" Gajeel explains.   
"I don't have anything to say to a faker like you"   
"I'm not a faker. Surely you remember me. You can't have forgotten what we had" Gajeel is pushed to the wall, an arm pressed to his neck.   
"You aren't him. You aren't. He died right in front of me by that bitch's hands. You're trying to trick me" he hissed, pressing into the slayer's neck.   
"I don't want to hurt you Erik. Please, let me speak" Cobra looks at him but removes his arm and steps back.   
"You have 5 minutes" he hisses.   
"Alright, you were half right. I did get hurt by that girl but she didn't kill me. I have the scar to prove it" he replies.  
"Show me" Gajeel lifts up the shirt, showing the scar at the side of his stomach.   
"That could be from anything"   
"What will it take for you to believe me"   
"Show me the true you. If you can do that then I'll believe you"   
"W-what. Erik, I can't"   
"Why. Because you aren't him. Gajeel would be able to do it and he'd do it without hesitation"   
"Maybe in the past but it's different now. None of the people up there know about it. I have no idea if they'll sell me out for money if they know"   
"Excuses. Times up. Time to die for inpersenating him" he hisses, rolling up his sleeve and coating his hand in poison.   
"Fine. I'll do it. Just..... Give me a second" he sighs, looking down. He lifts up his hand, using his finger to draw symbols in a circle in front of himself. A golden magic circle glows before disappearing. Gajeel bent down, clutching at his jaw as it pushed forward, trying to suppress a cry of pain. Two long wing bones and a tail soon followed. Black fur quickly grew up, becoming visable from the neck of his shirt, the fur only being slightly flattened by it. Scales formed, leaving the iron slayer in this completly new form.   
"Now do you believe me?" he asks, massaging the back of his jaw. Cobra looks at him.   
"Alright I believe you" he states, crossing his arms.   
"Great. Now come join me and we can fight the seiz as friends-" his hand is slapped away.   
"I'll cut you a deal. I will fight with you but only you. I don't care what happens to the rest of your buddies up there but I won't let the seiz harm you" he replies. Gajeel thinks about it.   
"Alright but no harming the people on my side either. I'm trying to prove I can be trusted and if you do that then they definetly won't trust me" he explains, crossing his arms.   
"Fine" the elf reluctantly agrees.   
"Now let's get both of you back up there" he explains, gesturing to the small climb they had to do. Gajeel picks up Cubelious, laying her over his shoulders and wrapped his tail around Cobra's waist.   
"Might want to close your eyes. And hold on to my tail incase you slip out" he explains, soon feeling two hands grabbing onto the shape at the end of his tail. He turns one arm into a pickaxe and pulls himself up the short climb until they reach the top. Gajeel looks around while lifting Cobra up the rest of the way with his tail.   
"What the fuck happened?" he asks before spotting the group. He walks over, still holding onto Cobra with his tail who is slightly dragged across the ground behind him.   
"What'd I miss?" he asks.  
"Where did you disappear to? We could have used your help back there and you just run off" Gray spat, pushing a finger into his chest.   
"You're trying to win the trust of these ones? Why? They seem like asshole" Cobra comments from behind Gajeel.   
"Who was that?" Lucy asks, looking around her.   
"OOoh, I'm the ghost that haunts Gajeel after he killed me two minutes ago" he snorts.   
"I acquired an ally" Gajeel stated, using his tail to bring Cobra into view, boots dragging on the ground.   
"Stop dragging me. You're going to ruin my boots"   
"Wait. He's one of the seiz. We could use him to our advantage" Lyon points out.   
"We aren't doing that" Gajeel objects, dropping Cobra onto the ground and removing his tail.   
"Don't let him go. He'll go running back to his buddies" Natsu objects.   
"If I wanted to go anywhere then I'd have already ran off by now" Cobra snorts, crossing his arms. The conversation is interrupted by Carla who says that to save Erza, they must save Wendy and why.   
"She's a dragon slayer?" Natsu asks in shock.   
"You didn't know that?"   
"And you did?"   
"Well first of all, she has that slight hint of dragon like Salamander. Second, I asked her and she told me"   
"You know, while we're on the topic of dragons. What is with that look?" Lucy asks, looking at Gajeel.   
"It's a long story that I don't want to get into so let's just call it unique dragon magic for now" he explains, flicking his tail.   
"Alright. We'll spi-" Carla starts  
"You wanna tell us where your Guild is hiding?" Gajeel asks, looking at Cobra.   
"No"  
"Ok. Never mind"   
"As I was saying. We'll split into teams. you three boys with me" she starts up again, gesturing to Gajeel, Natsu and Gray.   
"Well then I'm going too" Cobra states.   
"Why do we get the crazy snake guy?" Gray asks.   
"I'm not crazy, Cubelious is my friend and like I've said to him. I'm keeping Gajeel and only Gajeel free from harm. No one else"   
"So we have an ally and he's only willing to work with Gajeel. Great"   
"Cubelious will have to stay here. She'll just be dead weight while she's still unconscious" Gajeel tells him.   
"I'm aware" he sighs, gently pulling the snake from Gajeel's shoulders. He places her down oon the ground, running one hand along her head,   
"Be safe. I'll be back for you. Promise" he whispers although the two dragon slayers catch it.   
"Alright, let's go already before they hurt Wendy" Carla snaps, flying in one direction with the four boys running alongside her.


	41. Chapter 41

"This is stupid. I still can't believe we got stuck with Gajeel and the snake" Gray grumbled, running alongside the two dragon slayers and the seiz member.   
"I asked for him to come along because he seems to have developed some sort of relationship with Wendy and she might feel comfortable around him"   
"Are we talking about the same person? Gajeel does not look like a friendly person in the slightest"   
"For your information, I'm very good with children. They just...... Aren't fond of my look"   
"Probably because you haven't changed it since leaving your last guild. maybe cut the hair and loose the piercings"   
"Oi. I like this look"  
"If the two of you will stop bickering-"   
"Nah. eep bickering. This is entertaining" Cobra chuckles, cutting off the cat.   
"Do not cut me off. I was going to say that the reason that Wendy came along was because she wanted to meet the Salamander. She wanted to ask you a question"   
"Do you know what the question was?"   
"Yes. She wanted to ask if you'd seen her dragon. Her name was Grandeeney" Natsu looked down slightly, brows creasing before he ran into a low hanging branch.  
"Hey maybe Laxus knows"   
"Laxus isn't even a real slayer"   
"I'm right here you know"   
"Oh yeah, Gajeel, do you know the dragon"   
"I'm taking full offence here" he grumbles before closing his eyes, ears twitching repeatedly as he thought.   
"I can't quite recall. My memory is quit fuzzy outside of the stuff with Metalicana and his mate. I do remember meeting a sky dragon but that's as far as it goes" he explains, running one hand through his hair. Carla caught the group's attention, referring to the dead plant life ahead of them.   
"That would be Nirvana. Are you now understanding what you are getting yourselves into?"   
"Hey, I caught wind of their scent" Gajeel calls, gesturing in one direction and completly ignoring his friend. The group followed until they reached a cavern that had a stream on the bottom. Natsu yelled into the cavern which attracted the attention of those around. Cobra took hold of Gajeel by the tail and proceeded to pull him off in a different direction.   
"Care to explain where we're going?"   
"Away from them" he states.   
"I can't just leave"   
"Too bad. You're coming with me" he grumbles, dragging him by the tail.   
"But they have Cubelious-"   
"She'll come find me when she wakes up. I'm not worried"   
"Erik stop this. I can't do this" he objects, snatching his tail away.   
"What are you talking about?"   
"I'm not a dark guild mage. I belong to a light guild. I want to be friends but if you're going to do this then I can't come with you" he objects, ears tilted down. He steps forward, pulling something from his pocket.   
"Erik. What are you doing?" he stepped forward, pulling out a needle. Gajeel became defensive, spreading his wings wide. Cobra swings a kick, hitting Gajeel easily and knocking him back slightly.   
"I don't want to hurt you Erik"   
"Neither do I" he counters, catching the iron slayer and forcing the needle into his neck. His body collapsed onto the ground within a minute.   
"What did you do to me?"   
"It'll wear off. But I'm not having you runnin back to them"   
"Erik. I trusted you" Gajeel was depertly trying to move his body. To know that his friend was so willing to do this hurt. Cobra hoisted him up, turning in one direction.   
"We'll be partners but not in the way you think. When nirvana activates you'll be on our side" he objects.   
"Erik. Stop" Gajeel picked up quickly that they were following someone by the unfamiliar scent trail they were following. He didn't recognise the place that they had entered but he was put down on the ground. He could hear noise of someone moving but he couldn't see who it was.   
"Erik-" a hand was placed over his mouth to silence him. His head dipped down. He couldn't do this. Why was it so hard to be on the morally correct side. Why did he have to be torn between doing his job and helping his friend. He just wanted to go back to when things weren't so complicated. When he didn't need to constantly worry about this shit. He could see Cobra moving next to him and heard him nearly let out a laugh. His ear twitched slightly. He could feel movement returning to his body and someone was approaching. He caught the scent. A fairy. The fairies tore down Phantom. He lifted up his lip in a snarl. He sniffed the air again. The Fairy was near. he stumbled to get to his feet, placing a hand against the cavern wall. He would kill the Fairy.


	42. Chapter 42

Gajeel stumbled forward, walking past the elf. He turned his head to look.   
"Gajeel. What are you doing?" he whispers but doesn't get a response  
"No. Get back here. You aren't going anywhere with Erza" he hisses. The iron slayer ignores him once again, stumbling forward. Erza turns around, spotting him.   
"Gajeel? What are you doing here?" she asks, Breaking her gaze from the blue haired mage. He lifts his head up, a growl residing in his throat.   
"You're a fairy. I'll kill ya" he growls, tail transforming into a sword and sloppily aiming for her. She dodged it and landed on her feet.   
"Gajeel!" she yelled, meeting his gaze.   
"Yes!" Cobra yelled, making himself known. Erza dodged another attack from the iron slayer who's attacks were still sluggish from the parilization he had been under.   
"What did you do?"   
"I didn't do anything except maybe break him ever so slightly"  
"What?"  
"Now that we have Nirvana, its taking root on him" he laughed. Erza turned to the iron slayer who swung another attack at him.   
"Snap out of it. I thought you were trying to change. You would never hurt your allies"   
"You ain't my ally. Your a fairy and fairies should be crushed ut of existence" he spat, transforming his arm into a sword and swinging at Erza, leaving a scratch on her arm. His movements were becoming more clear now that the drug that had been used on him had worn off. Erza pushes her hand at the iron slayers jaw, causing him to stumble back slightly.   
"What did you say to him?" she demands, looking at Cobra.   
"You really think I did this? If I did this to him then he'd be coming for me. But he isn't. He's specifically coming for you" he counters. Erza dodges another attack from Gajeel.   
"Stop it. We aren't your enemies anymore. He is" Erza snaps at the iron slayer. Gajeel lifts up a hand to his head.   
"No. Don't listen to her. They are our eneimes" Cobra objects. He sends another attack at Erza, hitting her and Knocking her back. Jellal jumped in, sending an attack at Gajeel. He stumbled again, reaching up to his shoulder where the pain was radiating from. He lowers his hand. Erza looks. The jacket had been torn over his shoulder where his guild mark was supposed to be. But instead, all that remained was a large scar running across his shoulder and no guild mark. Erza looked around. She needed to knock him out. Maybe that would fix this. She changed into her giant's armour, using it to toss the slayer into the wall. He stumbled slightly, trying to get up. Erza used the opportunity to slam his head against the rock, knocking him out.   
"No. What did you do?"   
"So I was right in doing that" she states, changing back.   
"You....... You bitch" he spat, eyes narrowing. Both people in the room were surprised.   
"I should have made sure you died from that poison instead of coming out here. You've ruined my entire plan" he snapped, hands gripping onto nothing. His ears twitched when he caught the sound of someone else approaching. He turned around.   
"Brain?" he asks. The guild master looks down at him with a disapproving look.   
"I heard what you said Cobra. You were in close proximity with those other mages and you didn't kill any of them" he states.   
"Well no... But it was part of my plan. I needed Gajeel to trust me enough that I could lead him away and Nirvana could affect him. We nearly had him on our side if it wasn't for the fairy-" Brain raised a hand before turning towards the slumped over pile that was the slayer. He lifts up one wing with his staff, looking at him.   
"So Jose's Pet is here" he states, looking at Gajeel's face. He has the attention of the other three mages in the room at this point.   
"The only thing of use from this one is his scales. He's no less valiuble that way dead or alive" he states.   
"W-what? No. He's worth more than that. I've seen him fight before. He was really strong then. He'll be way stronger now. He'll be a great addition to the seiz" Cobra objects.   
"Cobra, you have betrayed my trust so I want you to kill him right now and prove your loyalty too the seiz"   
"What?" Cobra asks, knees looking ready to collapse beneath him.   
"Do it" he's ordered. He looks down at the unconscious slayer.   
"I-...... I can't....... I can't kill him" he objects.   
"If you won't then I will" he states, lifting up his staff, magic building up in the skull. Cobra pushes Brain, knocking him off and sending the magic spell up into the ceiling. The spot that had been hit collapses, sending rocks falling down onto the ground and raising dust into the air. Cobra uses this as an opportunity to grab the unconscious Gajeel and drag him out of sight, somewhere Brain couldn't harm him.   
"I'm sorry. I made a mistake" he mumbled, stumbling slightly when the slayers tail caught on something. He turns to look. A tree root. He backs up, unhooking his tail and putting it over his shoulder so that it wouldn't catch again. He twitched his ears, listening for anything or anyone who might approach him. No sounds. They were safe for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's something I thought would be cool to share. I made a fandom wiki page for this au. Not to much is on it so far but I am working on adding new information to it and more will be added as chapters are release. I'm even working on concept art for characters at the moment.
> 
> Link: https://the-bringer-of-death-and-the-apocalypse-ft-au.fandom.com/wiki/The_bringer_of_death_and_the_apocalypse_FT_au_Wiki


	43. Chapter 43

The ground began rumbling, causing the elf to stumble on his feet and collapse to the ground. He lifted his head up as the ground began to crack beneath them. Cobra looks up, a large leg rising up from the ground. He took a tight hold of Gajeel's jacket, as the ground below the two begun to lift up. He pulled the dragon slayer onto the ground, both now in the middle of a city. An explosion from the tower in the middle of the city caught his attention. He looked over to the tower, spotting something crashing down to the ground. He hoists Gajeel and begins to approach the area.   
"Natsu. Come on. We need to get up" Happy cries out, trying to get to the slayer who was currently wrapped up by Cubelious.   
"Cubelious?" Cobra calls. The snake lifts up her head and spots him, unraveling from the slayer and approaching him. Happy picks Natsu up and hovers slightly off the ground. Natsu spots him.   
"Hey. You should be grateful that I dragged that big snake of yours all the way here" he grumbles, pointing at Cobra. His eyes focus on the mark on the back of the slayer's hand while the tips of his ears twitched.   
"He chose this one" he hisses under his breath.   
"What does that mean?" Cobra placed the unconscious slayer on the ground. He then turns to Natsu again.   
"Cubelious" he yells. The snake moves, attempting to sink her teeth into the dragon slayers ankle although his exceed pulled him high enough that she missed.   
"Hey. What kind of gratitude was that?" he objected, looking down at Cobra. Cubelious sprouted wings, flying past her friend and allowing him to jump onto her back.   
"The snake can fly too?"   
"Hey, you can't just steal my gimic like that"   
"Shut your mouths. You'll run my ears off" he snaps. Natsu growls before jumping out of Happy's grasp in an attempt to land a hit on Cobra. he avoided the attack and brought his leg down on his back, sending him downward although Happy caught him.   
"What brought this on? I don't remember doing anything to make you mad" he objects, running his hands through his hair.   
"Quit blabbing" he snaps, arm covering in purple and white scales as he sends an attack of poison at Natsu who just barely dodges.   
"What was that?"   
"Natsu, I don' t think he's in the mood to talk" Both look at the elf who's looking at them with a look of fury.   
"Well just tell me why you want me dead all of a sudden. Didn't Gajeel say you weren't going to hurt us"   
"I lied. That's the one thing I won't do" he spat, sending another attack at Natsu and hitting him in the leg. He cried out, looking at the exposed skin.   
"My poison will chip away at you until you die and the more I hit you with, the faster you'll die" he laughed.   
"Stop this. Gajeel trusted you and you're doing this"   
"He'll thank me when I get rid of a pest like you. You don't deserve to have him"   
"What" Natsu looked at the elf in front of him.   
"Natsu what's wrong?" The fire slayer ignores him, instead opting to pay scan over the elf. He spots a slight hint of a tattoo on his palm.   
"Happy, you need to drop me on him"  
"What? But he'll be able to hit you better if I do"   
"You think you can surprise me. I know every move you'll make. Give it a try but it'll end with you in the dirt" Cobra yelled, flexing the claws on his right hand. Happy dropped Natsu, watching as the dragon slayer fell towards Cobra. Cobra extended his right hand, readying an attack. He turned his head when another voice distracted him. He was awake already. He couldn't be awake right now. Where is he? Did he move?. His wrist is grabbed and pulled down, the attack firing out at nothing in particular. Natsu looked at the palm while Cobra tried to pull his wrist back.   
"Let go of me" he hissed, tugging on his wrist hard.   
"Cubelious" he yelled. The snake turned her head, fangs bared to bite into Natsu's shoulder. Both of them were pushed down, away from the attack as someone else cried out.   
"Gajeel!" Both slayers yelled as the iron slayer was unable to find any form of balance on the back of the snake as he fell towards the ground. His tail was grabbed by Cobra who pulled him up onto the back of the snake. He pushes the jacket back and pulls fur away, showing the four puncture marks along his collar bone and the purple venom that was visably affecting the slayer.   
"No. No. What were you thinking? You're going to die from that" he yells at him, making Gajeel meet his eyes.   
"Gajeel look at me"   
"I couldn't.......... Just let you kill....... him" he objects. Cubelious slowly lowers the three to the ground, wings retracting into her body.   
"Why not?"   
"I noticed............ It" he states, struggling to speak through the pain he was clearly in. Cobra lifts up his right hand, the scales disappearing but the mark still there.   
"It's...... The same...... I know what it means....... Now" his tail tightens around his leg, squeezing it tightly as a way to hold in any pained noises. Natsu had collapsed to the ground again, the poison in his leg spreading and his motion sickness setting in.   
"That blue haired girl. The one you were trying to find. She can heal poison. I just need to find her" Cobra was currently in a panicked state, not focusing on his surroundings until he felt the pain that hit him on the shoulder blade. His ears twitched as he turned to look.   
"Brain..... Why?" he asked. He could hear everything that Brain was thinking suddenly before it was cut off again.   
"I'm sorry. Did you hear that?" he states.   
"You........ You can't do this"  
"You are of no use to me when you can't get over a simple infatuation that you have with someone from the other side" he states, stepping over.   
"As for you" he starts, looking down at Gajeel who had one eye closed due to pain.   
"You were a waste of resources. I should have sent you back to Jose immediately" he states before forcing the bottom of the staff right through the dragon slayers stomach. Gajeel coughed up blood, struggling not to pass out from all the pain. Brain turns away and takes a hold of Natsu's scarf. He began to drag him away as Cobra hit the ground with a thud, trying his best not to pass out from shock.


	44. Chapter 44

"So what your saying is the guy from the seiz tried to kill you but didn't?" Gray asks, looking at the fire slayer.   
"Yeah. I don't know why. It was after his snake tried to bite me but Gajeel got in the way-"   
"Wait, did you say Gajeel got in the way. He didn't get bit did he?" Wendy asks, looking worried for the slayer that she had befriended.   
"Yes. I think. The seiz guy seemed to be worried" he states, trying to think. Footsteps alerted the group and they all turned to the source.   
"Is it Midnight again?" Lucy asks.   
"If it is then we just need to get ready to fight her" Jura responds, readying a fist. Instead of the person they were expecting, Cobra stumbles and falls to the ground, dropping the unconscious Gajeel next to him.   
"It's Cobra" Jura states.   
"You need.......to help him...... He was poisoned and he has wound from Brain. He'll die if its not treated" he was practically begging at this point, breath laboured as he clutched where he'd been shot by Brain. Wendy ran over, pulling off Gajeel's jacket. She pushes the fur back and inspects the bite mark. The poison had already begun to spread, now reaching down his chest, towards his shoulder and up his neck. The slayer moved his head to the side, face scrunching in pain.   
"I'll try my best" she states, her hands glowing as they hovered over the bite mark.   
"Wait. Where did his guild mark go?" Gray asks, gesturing to the scared shoulder.   
"Did he cut it off? Why would someone do that?"   
"No. I can hear it. It wasn't his choice" Cobra replies.   
"What do you mean?"   
"I won't go into details since it's his choice whether he tells you or not but someone cut off his guild mark as a way to hurt him"   
"So........ Did he not say anything because he felt ashamed that he lost his guild mark?"   
"I will say that he nearly fell to the temptation of Nirvana"   
"What? But doesn't that feed on negative thoughts?"   
"Yes and he had plenty. Still does. And its because he's been trying to prove he can be trusted and keeps getting shot down by the people of his own guild" he states, directing his gaze at Gray and Lucy.   
"Oh..... I didn't realise it was hurting him" Lucy mumbled. Cobra raised an eyebrow at the two.   
"Well its not like he wears his feelings on his sleeve" Gray countered, crossing his arms. Wendy moves her hands back, panting slightly.   
"Did yu fix it?" Natsu asks, looking at her.   
"Not yet. I've gotten a little of it but it's taking a lot longer than Erza" she explains, lifting her hands up again.   
"How? There's no way it has to do with his muscle mass or something similar" she explains. Gajeel let's out a pained noise almost akin to a scream, his back arching and tail squeezing harder on his leg. All three dragon slayer flinched, shock covering their faces at the sound of a snap.   
"What? Why are you looking like that?" Jura asks.   
"Was that-" Wendy trailed off as the two older slayers slowly bent forward to inspect the source of the sound. Natsu's nose twitches.   
"I don't see anything" he Mumbles. Cobra prods the slayers tail.   
"I think it was the bone"  
"You think?"   
"The noise was too quick to properly pinpoint where it came from" he explains, ears twitching again. The iron slayer moved again, features scrunching in pain.   
"I don't understand why it's not working. I'm trying really hard but everytime I take some of it away it just spreads again" Wendy Mumbles, tears building in her eyes.   
"Is it your magic? Surely if you eat some air then you can fix him"   
"That's not the issue" Cobra objects. Everyone turns to him.   
"How is that not the issue?"   
"Because there's a different reason" he then turns to the sky slayer.   
"Have you ever used your magic on a dragon before?"   
"No. But what does that have to do with this?" Wendy was still on the verge of tears.   
"Move aside. I have a different approach that might work" he objects.   
"How are you gonna help him? All you've done is poison people" Gray snaps.   
"Precisely why this should work" Cobra replies. He sits next to the slayer's head, lifting him up slightly and leaning down. He sunk his fangs into the wound, getting shocked reactions from the other five mages. Cobra sucked against the wound, the spread of the poison lessening.   
"It's actually working" Lucy points out in shock. Cobra pulls his head back, taking in a couple breaths before sinking his teeth back into the dragon slayer and sucking on more poison. He leans back.   
"Quick. Use your magic now while it's still low" he explains. Wendy stumbles forward, raisin her hands above the wound, the last of the poison disapating.  
"Did it work?" Natsu asks, leaning over Gajeel to get a look at the wound.   
"I think the poison is gone. He just has that wound to worry about" Wendy Mumbles, turning to look at the wound.   
"It's too deep to properly heal. We need to cover it with something to stop the bleeding" she explains, running a finger over the wound. Everyone looks between each other, trying to figure out what they could use to bandage the wound. Natsu reaches up to his scarf before removing it and offering it to Wendy.   
"What are you doing? You never take your scarf off" Lucy objects.   
"If it means he doesn't die then I'll give it to him. He can just hand it back when he's done using it" Natsu objects, crossing his arms when Wendy gently took the scarf from him. She straightens out the scarf, leaning over it the wound.  
"Someone help me lift him up to wrap it around" she explains. The two slayers gently help him sit up while Wendy wraps the scarf around the wound, tying it up at the front.   
"I'll fix his leg. He'll need stitches for the wound but that'll have to wait" she explains, hovering her hands over his leg after moving the tail.   
"Care to explain what you meant about dragons earlier?" Jura asks.   
"Well, I phrased it wrong. It's not really a dragon thing but more an iron dragon thing. If I'm correct, you were unknowingly targeting the parts of his body being damaged by the poison and not the poison itself which was why it wasn't working. Essentially, you were holding the poison at bay more then you were healing it. Iron dragons from what I've heard from this one are affected quite bad by poison due to the metalaic make up of their body since poison and acid don't mix well with iron" he explains.   
"Well. Let's get this over with. We just need to fight Midnight. She's the last of the seiz left right?"   
"You do realise midnight's a guy right?" Everyone looks at Cobra.   
"You're joking" Gray demands.   
"I've been around him for years. Pretty sure he's a guy since that's what he has us call him" Cobra states, shrugging his shoulders. The three non slayers look at him with surprise.   
"Either way, go fight him. I'll stay here and watch over him" he explains, gesturing to Gajeel.   
"Fine, but if you try to pull another stunt like that I'll pound you to the ground" Natsu growled.   
"I'd like to see you try" he states back with a smirk.   
"And we'll talk about that Mark later" this made Cobra choke on air.   
"Yeah I noticed it" he states, getting up and following his teammates while the other two slayers were left alone. 


	45. Chapter 45

The ground of Nirvana began crumbling, catching the attention of the elf who hadn't moved position the entire time. Before he could make a move, the ground below him and the iron slayer caved in, sending them both to the grass below, large and small rocks falling around. Cobra quickly pulled himself back from a rock that was heading for his legs before looking for Gajeel. He found the dragon slayer and pulled him to safety in a small cave that some of the rubble had made. A few more rocks landed near the small 'cave' but for now the two slayers were sheltered.   
"Check this way. We're still missing one" someone yelled. Cobra covered his mouth with one hand and Gajeel's muzzle with the other, pricking his ears as he listened to the voices. They were searching the area. Maybe he could try and sneak past before any of them caught him. The sound of horses approaching made him rethink that idea.  
"Did you find him?"  
"No sir. There's no sign of Cobra. Its almost like he's vanished" one of the rune knights that had been there before spoke up. Cobra could hear several voices now. The inner voices of all the other members of the seiz and someone else. Keeping in mind that he needs to keep out of sight as best as possible, he looks up slightly to look out on of the gaps in the pilled up rocks. Rune knights were searching the area. Before long they'd find his location and who knows what would happen with Gajeel. He turned to the unconscious slayer and shook him slightly.  
"Gajeel. You need to get up" he hissed out, looking in the direction of all the noise before going back to the slayer. He shifted slightly but didn't wake up.  
"Gajeel you blasted idiot. Get up" This time the slayer cracked open one eye weakly.  
"Ok, your up. Listen to me. I'm going to need you to get us out of here" he hisses.  
"Why should I?"  
"Goddammit Gajeel....... Fine. You can do one of those stupid shit we did as kids _and_ I'll write you a song to sing" The iron slayer looked at him for a second.  
"Deal sold" he agrees, pushing himself into a sitting position only to wince at the sting in his stomach.  
"Did you hear something over there?" someone asked.   
"I'll distract em" Gajeel whispers, slowly getting to his feet and stumbling back out into the dark. He was quickly bombarded with a barrage of spears pointed towards his throat.  
"Kurogane. Well. Never thought I'd see you here on my first mission" the lieutenant chuckled, walking forward.  
"Yeah well. You gonna arrest me or some shit" he asks, stretching one wing and blocking the view of a few rune knights before folding it again.  
"Depends on what you were up to" he replies, looking the slayer up and down. Gajeel moves to the side, everyone keeping their attention on him.  
"Didn't you know. I love forcing sticks through my stomach, its my new favorite hobby" he replies sarcastically.  
"I'm not here for games"  
"Yeah well take a guess what I was doing. Recovering from falling off a fuckin magic city and nearly getting crushed with rocks" he replied, walking further around them, causing them to do a full 180 to keep their eyes on him.  
"Where is Cobra?"  
"Oh. He's either on the run or dead. We had a pretty gruesome fight. How do you think I got this or the bite mark......... which you probably can't see but I'm pretty sure its still there" he explained, swishing his tail.   
"Wait so we can't get Cobra?" One of the rune knights asks. He's silenced with a simple hand wave.   
"Well then. Be on your way. But we'll be keeping an eye out for you" the Lieutenant warns before walking over to the wagon and heading off with it. When they were a slight distance away, Gajeel took a deep breath and began following the scent trail of the elf. He was hit in the head with a rock and his attention was drawn towards the slayer who was crouched behind some bushes, although he had raised his head up so that the slayer could see him.  
"Now you owe me. I got your ass out of prison before you were even taken there" he states.  
"Yeah yeah. You know the deal"  
"You should be more grateful. Prison's fuckin shit"  
"And you would know this how?"  
"Been in it a few times. Ain't fun. Smells like shit. Food tastes like shit and everybody there are assholes"  
"Says you" The shorter male got a swipe on the ear for his comment. The iron slayer sat down on the ground, moving his hands as they glowed a greenish colour before a small needle and an iron thread were left in his hand.  
"Any good at sewing?"  
"You want me to sew your wound. _With iron._ Do you realize how stupid that is"  
"It'll be fine"   
"I can't believe you're serious about this" he sighed but took the small needle in his fingers. Gajeel untied the scarf which had some blood stains on it now.  
"I'm gonna have to wash that before I give it back" he decides, looking down at the scaled fabric. Cobra leaned forward and slowly began sewing it closed.  
"Shouldn't we clean it out?"  
"You're sky slayer friend did that already" he replied, finishing up with the needle and tying the scarf around the wound again.  
"I think I'll stay put for a little while until I can summon the energy to move" he sighs, leaning back against the tree more.  
"What exactly are we going to do?"  
"Go to Fairy tail"  
"You're insane. I'm a criminal. I don't belong in a legal guild"  
"I'm a murderer and I'm in Fairy tail" he objects. Cobra blinks at him, looking shocked.  
"Now do you understand how I know about prisons"  
"Wait. But I thought Phantom Lord was a legal guild"  
"Doesn't mean Jose didn't get us to do sketchy shit while we there. I was his go to for murder requests which he brought into the guild illegally but the council didn't know about them"he shrugs, running a claw through his hair which had basically super glued it to his back.  
"Oh and in the entire time we've been alone, when were you going to tell me about that?" he asks, gesturing to Cobra's palm.  
"I don't know. Besides, you didn't tell me you knew"  
"I wanted to see when you'd tell me but then you tried to kill one of my boyfriends and I decided that it was time"  
"Yeah, I g- Wait did you say one of?"  
"Yeah"  
"You have more than one?"  
"I thought you read minds"  
"You didn't think about it once" he objected, looking at him with pure shock. It went quiet.  
"How many?"  
"Two" It went silent again. The only sound coming from the animals around them. Cobra looked up at the sky, watching the birds as they flew past. He was suddenly pulled right next to the iron slayer who had used his tail to pull the elf close.  
"What are you doing?"  
"I thought you enjoyed the quiet" he chuckled, ears and fins twitching as he laughed. Cobras went quiet. He did prefer the quiet. It was nice. Less grading on his ears. He closed his eyes, just listening to the noise around him as he fell asleep.


	46. Chapter 46

"Get the fuck back" the elf hissed, raising his hands in objection.   
"Come on. It ain't that bad" the taller male argued, leaning closer only to be pushed away by the elf who stepped back only to bump into a tree.  
"You are not touching me" he spat, wrapping his arms around himself.  
"Oh come on, You can't be that attached to it"   
"I'm not but I refuse to let you cut my hair with your fuckin sword arm. That's never happening ever" Cobra hissed, looking around the surrounding area, ears twitching as he searched for an escape route if the need for one occurred.  
"Ya clearly think I'm a moron if you believe I would use my sword. What kinda idiot would do that. You'd loose more than your hair" he snorted, raising a studded brow.  
"That was my entire point"  
"Just sit. I'll cut some of yer hair then we can get some new clothes. I refuse to change forms until I can replace these clothes" the iron slayer grumbled, gesturing to the tears in the back of his shirt that had been caused by the wings. The poison dragon grumbled under his breath but sat down on the grass, sending a death glare towards the nearest tree.  
"You tryin' to mentally strangle that tree or some shit" Gajeel asked, sitting down. He closed his hands together as a green glow surrounded them.  
"Maybe" he growled, venom dripping in his words.  
"Sorry Mr moody. Didn't think you were into that shit" that comment recieved a punch directed at the slayer's jaw as he rubbed his jaw with an annoyed look. He brought his hands away from each other, a set of scissors that glinted in the sunlight lay in one hand.  
"See. Scissors. I'm usin' these" he explained, holding them in one hand.  
"If you make me look like shit then you're loosing some teeth" he growls, gripping at the grass below him with tight hands that left his knuckles turning white.  
"You'll be fine. We're just... loosing some hair weight is all"  
"You gonna cut your hair too?"  
"If you try and touch my hair then you will be thrown in the nearest river" the dragon slayer growled, ears and fins twitching as he spoke and irises narrowing.   
"Oh so you can cut my hair but I can't cut yours? Pretty double standard there" Cobra snorted.  
"Your hair is being cut because you're too recognizable" Gajeel objects, snipping some hair around the elf's ear and letting the dark hair to fall onto his shoulder.  
"Like cutting my hair is gonna change that fact" Cobra snorted, reaching up to brush the loose hairs from his shoulder.  
"It'll at least take longer to figure out. It'll give us time to get back to Fairy tail before someone figures out its you and reports to the council" he points out, snipping some of the hair that fell in the middle of the elf's head.  
"Why would Fairy tail even protect me? I'm a member of the seiz"  
"Was" Gajeel corrected, creating an iron kunai and using it to cut more hair along the right side of Cobra's head.  
"Doesn't change much. That's like saying someone was a puppy kicker. People will still hate the guy for kicking puppies" Cobra sighed, staring straight ahead.  
"What the hell kinda example is that. Why would you even think about that kinda example" Gajeel snorted, placing the scissors and Kunai down as he began running his fingers through the maroon coloured hair, pulling it across to the left side and allowing it to fall over his ear.  
"Alright, nearly done. Just gonna trim the back a little and then you'll be done" he explained, picking up the scissors and snipping at the back of his hair. Cobra went quiet until Gajeel pulled away from his hair.  
"Alright done" he sighed, picking up the metal pieces and shoving them in his pocket. Cobra stood up and walked over to the nearby stream, looking down at his reflection in the water. He runs his hands over his hair slightly before turning to Gajeel.  
"Alright. I'll give you credit. It actually looks good" Gajeel snorted at him.   
"And you doubted me" the iron slayer scoffed, looking in another direction.  
"Well obviously. When was the last time you cut your hair" Cobra pointed out.   
"The last time I remember my hair having been cut, it smelt like something had been burnt" he explained, giving a slight shrug in response.   
"Well, now that that's done. Let's find somewhere to get some clothes" Cobra sighed, looking at the sleeve of his jacket that had been ruined from his fight.  
"So somewhere with as little people as possible and free clothes" Gajeel grumbles, tail curling behind him.   
"Oh. We can go back to that out of the way Blue Pegasus building. Its surely got some clothes there we can use"   
"So we're stealing"  
"Its not stealing if they never find out" Gajeel objects, taking the lead through the trees. Cobra watches him for a moment before slowly following him from behind.   
"Oh. What happened to Cubelious? Haven't seen her since she bit me" he explains, unknowingly making the elf stiffen slightly.  
"I..... don't know. I blacked out for a few minutes and when I came around, she was gone" he replied, reaching around to his shoulder blade. While distracted, he tripped forward, landing on the ground with a thud and hitting his head down hard in the dirt. He looked behind him where a fallen tree lay in the path. He heard rustling before two pairs of claws entered his vision.  
"How the fuck did you miss a fucking tree Erik?" he snorts, tail swishing near his feet. Cobra pushed himself to his knees and glared up at the iron slayer.  
"Fuck off" he snapped, getting to his feet and brushing his hands over his clothes to get rid of dust and dirt.  
"Well hurry up. We're almost there" he states, walking ahead again and pushing a few low hanging branches out of his face. Cobra followed, ears twitching as he followed Gajeel through the remains of the trees to the building that almost seemed out of place amongst the vast landscapes around them.  
"Who even thought it was a good idea to put a building that big this far out from civilization" Cobra snorted, crossing his arms. Gajeel didn't answer and walked up to the building. He tried the doorknob but it just rattled and didn't open.  
"Alright. So the door's closed" he states.  
"No shit. Who would leave the front door open so anyone can just waltz in" Cobra responded. He received a small push from Gajeel's tail while the slayer looked over the building. He stepped back and the poison slayer raised an eyebrow at him.  
"What are you doing?"  
"Getting us inside" The iron slayer ran forward and shoved himself into the door heavily. It left a dent in the door but it didn't budge.  
"There's an easier way then trying to bust it down that way" Cobra sighed, rolling his eyes.  
"Well then feel free to show your little idea" Gajeel offered with an annoyed smile while gesturing to the dented door. Cobra walked forward and lifted up his left arm, covering it in purple and placing his hand against the door which slowly sizzled in response until a hole had been burnt through.  
"Could have done that before I nearly busted my shoulder trying to break it down" Gajeel snorted, crossing his arms.  
"You could have waited" the elf stated, ears twitching as he reached through the hole and unlocked the door from the inside.  
"You just wanted to see me do that" he grumbled, flicking his tail as he walked past the shorter male and into the building. He sniffed the air, looking around for any sign of anyone in the building.  
"Scents are stale. No one's been here for a few days" he sighed, looking around the room.   
"Yeah well lets get these clothes-" he was interrupted by his stomach growling.  
"And some food would probably be good too" he adds, coughing into his hand while trying to hide his embarrassment as the tips of his ears turned pink.   
"Great. Yer like a fuckin twig" Gajeel chuckled in response, looking pointedly at the elf. He got a glare from Cobra. The iron slayer began laughing.  
"So I can't tease you? I thought we were friends Erik" he chuckled, placing a hand on his stomach only to wince when he made contact with the still healing wound.  
"Let's just get this done with" Cobra sighed, walking up the stairs and checking the rooms.  
"Found somethin'" Gajeel called from halfway down the corridor. Cobra headed in that direction, listening for any sign of the dragon slayer  
"This place is like a bloody mansion" he grumbled, walking up to the iron slayer.  
"You should see the Fairy guild hall. Its even bigger. Has a basement and an upstairs" he chuckled as he entered the room and gestured to the multitude of clothes inside.  
"Its a bloody walk-in wardrobe" Cobra scoffed, looking around.  
"I know right. You have to be pretty wealthy to have shit like this" Gajeel agreed, pulling at one of the white suits on a hanger.  
"Guessing you don't have one then" Cobra laughed, looking through clothes.  
"I don't even have a house. Been crashing with Sparky for the last few months and before that I was crashing with Salamander" he responded.  
"Oh which reminds me. I need to crash at Fire prince's new place. I'm thinking of pushing a few photos from his mantlepiece to the floor" he laughed.  
"What are you? A cat"  
"No. I'm a dragon"  
"You act like a cat" he waved off, pulling out a dark grey fleece jumper. He looked at it for a second before pulling off his ruined coat, tossing it to the side and pulling off his shirt.  
"Ah, shit. You didn't say you were changin'" Gajeel objected, quickly turning away and covering his face with one wing. Cobra paused for a few seconds with his shirt pulled halfway up, exposing his stomach and lower back.  
"I didn't realize that would make you uncomfortable-"  
"Its fine. Just warn me next time. Surprise stripping can........ it brings back bad shit" Both went quiet for a second.  
"So I'm guessing you don't like the guy who keeps stripping"  
"In all honesty, its a little uncomfortable but I'm getting used to it. He has no malice and he doesn't know. Only gramps knows and I was pretty vague with him about it" he sighed, keeping his wing up and hiding his face. Cobra pulled his shirt off completely and tossed it to the side as well, noticing the way that the iron slayer flinched when he did. He pulled on the clean jumper and turned to Gajeel.   
"I'm done. I'll let you know if I take off anymore clothes" he explains as the iron slayer slowly lowered his wing and folded it at his back.  
"Yeah. Sounds good" he mumbled, looking back towards the clothes and sorting through them. Cobra turned back and began looking through the clothes again. He found a slight cape with a hood attached to the back. He pulled it on, letting it fall over his right shoulder and making sure the strap was secured below his left arm and the fabric sat over his left arm. He turned to Gajeel.  
"What do you think?" he asks, pulling on the bottom of the jumper.  
"Really? You didn't change the colour scheme?" the iron slayer asked, looking at him with a raised brow.  
"Don't criticize my colour choice" Cobra grumbled, running a hand through his hair. Gajeel shrugged but didn't say anything. He turned back to the clothes, pulling out a leather jacket, trousers and a shirt.  
"These should do" he states before turning to him.  
"Mind turnin' yer bck. I don't like people lookin' at me when I ain't wearing shit" he asks, looking at the elf. Cobra turns around without a word, staring at the wall ahead. He could hear the sound of the dragon moving and the movement of clothing.  
"Alright. Ya can turn around" he explains. Cobra turned around and looked at Gajeel who no longer had the dragonic features.  
"You hid them again" Cobra pointed out.  
"Yeah. I don't......... I have no idea if gramps would cast me out or sell me out if he ever found out what I really am. Jose was willing to do it so......... I just don't know who I can trust with this information. I haven't even told raindrop or fire prince"  
"Well....... I won't tell anyone...... Does..... Do your partners know?"  
"No but...... I don't know..... They might be figuring it out. Sparky.... He's pretty sharp" he replied, tugging on the leather jacket he wore.   
"Best we head off before someone comes here and finds us" Gajeel offered, changing the topic.  
"Yeah. Good idea" Cobra agreed, taking the lead out of the room and down the stairs of the Blue Pegasus owned building.


	47. Chapter 47

_I drew Cobra's new hairstyle. When it wasn't coloured in, it looked nothing like him. I honestly thought that he wouldn't even be recognizable in the picture because of this, especially compared to Laxus, Gajeel and Natsu, who, no matter what style you give, they still look like those characters. But the final product turned out pretty decent._

The guild hall was very rowdy when the group of 7 returned. No fights but lots of cheering, laughing and cheerful banter. The master looked over towards the group and gave a smile.  
"Ah. You've returned. Oh, and who might this be?" he asks, looking down at the small dragon slayer.  
"Um. I'm Wendy and this is Carla" she introduced, gesturing to her feline partner who flicked her tail.  
"Are you here to join the guild?" she nodded in response, holding her hands close to her chest.  
"Well then, go talk to Mira. She can help you both out" he smiled then turned to the rest of the group, scanning over each individual member. Not far away, a few seats away, Laxus was listening to the conversation.  
"Where's Gajeel?" Makarov asked, picking out the missing member of the group.  
"Well you see-" Lucy mumbled, pulling on her fingers.  
"We kind of-" Gray tried to continue but trailed off. Erza took in a breath.  
"We lost him after Nirvana got destroyed" Erza finally stated. Makarov looked at her for a second.  
"You did what?" he yelled. The guild slowly became quiet as everyone wanted to know what was going on, even if their curiosity wasn't very secretive.  
"Well. He was kind of injured and Cobra said that he could watch him while we fought his guild master and then...... he kind of vanished after that"  
"You what?!" heads turned towards the lightning mage who had stood up at this point, staring at the group with shock.  
"You left an injured person-"  
"He was also unconscious" Natsu piped in, not realizing how he was making it worse.  
"That's even worse. You left him with the enemy in a state where he couldn't defend himself if need be. That was idiotic"   
"Jura was fine with it" Gray grumbled, crossing his arms.  
"Master, there is another pressing matter" she added in.  
"And what is that Erza?" Makarov sighed, looking down towards the floor.  
"Its regarding Gajeel. He....... well he tried to kill me when we were near Nirvana-"  
"I knew he couldn't be trusted" someone yelled from the guild which was slowly followed by more uproar that the iron slayer wasn't trust worthy and that he should just be handed over to the council when they found him.  
"Shut up!" someone yelled across the chaos. Heads turned to look at the dual haired mage who had stood up and slammed his hands on the table, Juvia sat next to him with a worried look clear on her face.  
"You're all ganging up on him without even hearing the full story or even Gajeel's side. You're making him out as a monster because he fucked up your guild hall and did some other pretty disgusting shit. He's a decent guy if you actually took the time and gave him a chance to prove it" he snapped, looking across the different mages.  
"Juvia agrees with Totomaru. Gajeel is not heartless. He's just like Juvia and Totomaru. He just wants somewhere that he can belong" she argued, fists grabbing at her dress skirts. Erza looked towards the two mages who were defending the slayer and turned to the master again.  
"Master, that isn't my concern. My concern is about what caused it and something that Brain and Cobra said during the event" she explained.  
"Please continue Erza" the master prompted, gesturing to the armour clad mage.   
"His sudden change seems to have something to do with Nirvana. He had been perfectly fine and didn't seem to hold any malice right up until it was activated. I believe that its the case since Cobra was telling his guild master about him and something related to Nirvana" she explained, crossing her arms and looking towards the ground.  
"Cobra did say something about Nirvana affecting him and Wendy had to be knocked out to stop it taking hold of her" Lucy points out.  
"That is concerning. I'll have to look into that" Makarov sighs before looking at Erza to continue.  
"Brain also said something about Gajeel being Jose's pet and that he could sell his scales" she explained. Natsu perked his head up suddenly.  
"Wait. I heard him say something about wasting resources on Gajeel and something related to Jose too" he explained, looking at Erza. Makarov closed his eyes, linking his hands together as he thought.  
"Alright. We can deal with this once we actually find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?"  
"We did a double take of the area and found nothing. Not even a hair" Gray sighed.  
"I caught onto his scent but it was all muddled and disjointed. Its..... different. I couldn't keep a hold of it" Natsu added.  
"And his scent was weaving through with one of the seiz members. It got really confusing" Wendy piped in, holding onto her dress.  
"You realize he could be dead right?" Laxus suggested, crossing his arms.  
"He's not-"  
"You left him, unconcious, with a murderer and you really think he isn't or won't be dead?"  
"Cobra seems really nice though" Wendy piped in. Everyone turned to her. She squeaked slightly and looked to her feet.  
"Well, he was injured but still prioritized getting Gajeel to me so that I could heal his poison-"  
"He was poisoned?" Laxus cut in, looking towards the fire slayer who smiled sheepishly.   
"Gajeel is alright right?" Juvia asked, walking over to Wendy.  
"Well, the poison was cleared with Cobra's help. He sucked it out of the wound and helped me to clear the rest of it out. Its just the wound in his stomach that I couldn't heal" she explained, fiddling with her fingers.  
"Great. So we have no idea where he is" Laxus grumbled with a heavy sigh. Makarov waved a hand at the blond, a silent sign that he was to be quiet. He narrowed his eyes at his grandfather, opening his mouth to object but closed it again, deciding against the action.  
"Alright. I'll-"  
"Makarov Dreyar" everyone looked towards the one who spoke.  
"Can I help you?"  
"I am Lieutenant Lahar. I trust your..... reckless guild member made it back safely" he offered.  
"Well. Natsu, Erza and Gray are sto-"  
"I'm talking about Redfox" he corrected.  
"You saw Gajeel?" Natsu asked hopefully, approaching him and twitching his nose as he tried to catch Gajeel's scent on him. He was pushed away by Lahar.  
"Yes. He is part of the reason I am here. He was acting...... out of character. At least for him" he explained.  
"What's the other reason"  
"We have been unable to locate one member of the seiz. Cobra. I have come here to ask some questions about him. We were told by Redfox that it was possible he could be dead and we would much rather confirm this rather then assume"   
"What? That's not true. Cobra was the least likely to die out of the three of us" Natsu blurted out, his teammates trying to get him to be quiet.  
"Is that true?" Lahar asked, sounding intregued. Gray quickly pushed the fire mage away.  
"You see, Natsu is a little confused. He's talking about his fight with Cobra. However Gajeel also had a fight with him when Natsu was down for a bit so he didn't see it" Gray covers.   
"Is that the case?" Lahar asks, raising an eyebrow.  
"Well, it would be useful if I could borrow your dragon slayer. If he is still alive then its not the best idea to leave him wandering the country with a high body count on his shoulders. Gods know what he could do on his own" Erza quickly steps in.  
"Well, actually, Natsu isn't feeling to well-"  
"I'm not?"  
"Look at that. He's delusional and scatter-brained from the poison. He still needs some time to recover. Sorry to inconvenience you"  
"But I feel f-" The fire mage had his head slammed into the scarlet haired woman's armour, leaving him to fall unconscious from the impact. Gray cringed behind him but didn't say anything.  
"Well. That is a shame" he states plainly before turning to Totomaru and Juvia.  
"Oh and Makarov"  
"Yeah.  
"I'm keeping my eye on those phantoms you have in the guild. Trust me when I say, even one mistake and they'll find themselves in a jail cell just like their guild master" he threatened, staring straight at the former element four members. Juvia ducked back while the dual haired mage stepped in front of her with narrowed eyes, protecting her from the gaze of the council member.  
"That is all" he finally finished off, turning around and walking out of the guild hall. The guild hall was quiet for a few minutes, no one daring to speak after that. Some members turned to the former phantom mages, who were yet to move from their position.  
"Are you alright Juvia?" the dual haired mage finally broke the silence, turning to Juvia.  
"Juvia is fine. She just thought that the council would leave us alone now" she replied.  
"Don't worry. We all did" he sighed. Makarov looked at the two.   
"I'll send out a couple mages to find Gajeel and bring him back here" he finally speaks up. Lots of members were hesitant, still not trusting the dragon slayer enough to help him out.  
"We'll go" someone finally piped in. Heads turned to meet the thunder legion, Freed standing at the head with a confident stance.  
"Thank you for volunteering Freed. I will give you a communication Lacrima in case we need to contact you or vice versa" he explains as Mira hands him one of the spare communication Lacrima that were linked prior to the one in the guild hall. The three mages agreed and soon headed out on their mission. 


	48. Chapter 48

"I still don't know why we couldn't take the train" Cobra scoffed, shoving hands into the pockets of his jeans.  
"I'm broke and yer a criminal. That's why" he explained, taking the lead of the two as he walked ahead.  
"At least a train would be warm" the elf grumbled, pulling on the cloak in an attempt to keep himself warm as they trudged through the ankle deep snow.  
"We'll be outta the snow in no time. Once we're off these mountains, it shouldn't be much further until we reach Magnolia" he yelled back.   
"And you should be thankful that there's no blizzard too"  
"Don't jinx us. I actually like feeling my hands" the elf grumbled, rubbing his hands over his ears that were nipping from the cold that was abusing them. Gajeel suddenly stopped, leading to the elf running right into him and nearly falling back into the snow.  
"What the hell did you stop for?" he snapped, looking around to the slayer who was sniffing the air.  
"Can't ya hear that?" he asks.  
"No because I'm more preoccupied with making sure my ears don't fall off" he grumbled, rubbing his hands over his ears again. The iron slayer looked around the vast landscape.   
"Something's not right" he mumbled, looking around him as he tried to figure out what was out of place in the vast amounts of snow. Cobra's ears twitched as he let his hearing spread out, ignoring the nipping of the cold. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. All fine. Wait. Footsteps. Too heavy to be an animal but to light to be something like a Vulcan. He brought his attention back to the two of them.  
"There's someone up ahead. I can hear the footsteps" he explained, looking in front of them.  
"Ya sure?"  
"My hearing never lies" Cobra replied, lowering himself into a defensive stance. Gajeel hesitated to copy, unsure if the person approaching was dangerous or just some civilian having a stroll in the snow for some unknown reason. The shapes of three people in big, winter counts slowly came closer until all three stopped and looked at them.  
"What would happen if I attacked them and stole their coat's" Cobra whispered.  
"We ain't doin that" Gajeel objected. The three were clearly talking to each other with the way their hoods angled themselves.  
"And what if they attack first?"  
"Well then we attack them since that's just self defense"  
"Well, that's what they're planning"  
"What?" Something was then sent flying, hitting Cobra right in the face and sending him back into the snow which flew up in flurries. More of those same objects began to attack, smashing into the maroon haired mage or sending small magic attacks. Gajeel jumped in the way, hardening his skin with scales and using his body to shield the shorter male. The strange objects kept attacking, only this time they hit Gajeel instead, battering at his metal scales.  
"Babies stop" someone yelled as the wooden dolls floated away. Three sets of footsteps were quickly approaching. The dragon slayer didn't move, keeping his defensive stance over the poison slayer.  
"Gajeel?" someone asked. He looked over his shoulder at the source of the vote. The lead mage pulled down his hood, revealing long neon hair that had been tied up into a high ponytail.  
"Oh. Its highlighter" he states nonchalantly.  
"Excuse me what?" Freed asked, raising an eyebrow at he nickname. Gajeel leans back on his new boots, looking at the group of three.  
"Erik, we're good. They're with Fairy tail"  
"And? They attacked me" he snapped, quickly getting to his feet and brushing snow off his clothes so that they wouldn't be left wet. All three members of the thunder legion tensed, watching the elf with sharp gazes.  
"Calm down. He's with me" Gajeel sighed, waving a hand at the three.  
"But....... he's a criminal"  
"So was I"  
"He tried to kill you"  
"That was an accident" The three of them looked between the two with shock written on their faces. Gajeel reached an arm around Cobra's shoulders, pulling him close.  
"Erik and I go back. He's a good pal of mine. Thought he could join the guild" Gajeel explained. The three mages gave him a questioning look.  
"Come on. He's really strong and he's trying to change"   
"He can come along but its up to the master if he joins" Freed finally sighs.   
"We're getting there" Gajeel smiled.  
"Also. How did you know we'd be here?" he asks.  
"We checked in practically every town in the surrounding area and there had been no sightings so the next place was here" he explained, taking the lead of the group. Neither slayer objected as they tagged along with the rest of the group. When they finally reached the end of the snow, Cobra was elated.  
"Finally. No more fucking snow" he yelled in triumph.   
"We're nearly there too. I can see the train tracks. Follow those and we'll come right in at Magnolia station" Gajeel added on, taking the lead of the group as he shook out snow from his hair which had come from a tree.   
"This didn't nearly as long as we thought it would" Evergreen pointed out.  
"Its kinda hard to miss a guy with jet black hair that looks like he belongs in a biker gang" Bickslow chuckled, his dolls chattering alongside.  
"Oi. I take pride in my look" the dragon slayer snorted, crossing his arms.  
"It wasn't an insult. I was just stating the obvious" the soul mage countered with a chuckle. Gajeel growled slightly before turning away as he followed the tracks right up to the station.  
"This is Magnolia?"  
"Yep. It can be pretty quiet at times but the guild is really noisy so there's your heads up"  
"Thanks for the warning" Cobra replied sarcastically. The small group walked through the town, some people turning to look at the elf with curious gazes. Gajeel stepped back slightly so that he could walk alongside the elf. People proceeded to turn away at the sight of the iron slayer.  
"People really don't like you"  
"Used to it. Like I said, no one trusts me after I busted the fairy hall, beat up about...... 6 members and kidnapped one. It doesn't look good for you when those things are on your record" he chuckles, shoving hands into his trousers.   
"Guess we're kinda starting on a similar foot then" Cobra points out. Gajeel laughed.  
"Guess we are. But be grateful that you weren't locked up for a month" he explains.   
"Oh. I will be" he agrees. The small group finally reach the guild doors. Freed pushes them open.  
"Duck" Cobra warns. All five mages quickly duck down when a chair is flung right out through the now open doors and tumbling across the street.  
"What a lovely welcome" Cobra states dryly, looking back at the chair. Inside the guild hall, another fight had escalated between the fire and ice mage, both flinging things at each other and unknowingly other people. While the thunder legion hesitated to move in case something was flung at them, Gajeel just took a hold of Cobra's wrist and dragged him over to the bar where Makarov was.  
"Oh, Gajeel. You're back2 he stated. The fighting suddenly ciesed, both mages turning their attention to the guild master and two slayers.  
"Yes and I have someone who's willing to join" he agrees, pulling Cobra in front of him and into Makarov's view. He looked over the elf, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he tried to identify who this young man was.  
"I'm Cobra. Former member of the Oracion Seiz" he offered as help. Makarov looked surprised.  
"But...... The council member said that Gajeel told them that he died" Natsu objected.  
"That was obviously a lie flame for brains" Gray pointed out.   
"Gajeel. Did you deliberately prevent him from being taken to jail?" Makarov asked.  
"Well..... yes but Erik is willing to change. Just let him join. If anything happens then I'll be fully responsible. Just give him a chance" he promoted, hands on the elf's shoulders.  
"You aren't very good at sweet talking"  
"It ain't sweet talking and you ain't helping" he pointed out.   
"Oh I'm sorry. What am I supposed to say? Oh hey, I promise I won't murder anyone?"  
"Actually that kinda sounds favourable"  
"Hush you" Makarov looked between the two and sighed.  
"Alright. He can join" he sighed. Cobra let a breath out that he didn't even realise that he had been holding.  
"However, you will be watched by Gajeel and his team until further notice, do you understand?" he explains.  
"Yes sir" Cobra replies. Makarov chuckles.  
"No need to be so formal. You can just call me gramps" he assures him.  
"Oh. Um. O-ok" he replies, looking down at his boots.  
"Mira. Help this young man get a guild mark" he called to the white haired mage. He then turned to Gajeel.  
"And Gajeel, go with him. Its about time you got your guild mark back" he added. Gajeel looked at him with shock.   
"I.. um well-"  
"Don't fret about it. Just go with Cobra" he assured him. Gajeel said nothing and walked towards Mira and Cobra who were in a back room. When he entered, Cobra was pulling his jumper down before looking at Gajeel.   
"Gajeel, come over here. Do you want yours the same?"  
"Yeah, that would be nice" he agreed. He pulled off the leather jacket and rolled up the sleeve so that she could place the guild mark over the scarred over skin. She pressed the stamp on his shoulder, leaving the black mark in its place. He rolled his sleeve down and looked over at Cobra.   
"Well, now yer part of a proper family" he chuckled. Mira left the two alone in the room.  
"Gajeel" he muttered.  
"Yeah?"  
"About the mark, you can for-"  
"Nope. Stop right there. You are not finishing that sentence" Gajeel objected.  
"What?"  
"I got sparky and Salamander to agree to a poly relationship. I'm sure I can get them to agree to a four way"  
"That sounds like a sex thing"  
"Oh no, I ain't doing that. I refuse to do that.... At least for now" he objects, shrugging his shoulders. Cobra looked surprised.  
"You will?"  
"If you can deal with Salamander and Sparky then yeah. We're kinda a package deal now" he chuckled.  
"And Silas?"  
"Prison. I don't think I'll be seeing him any time soon" he sighed, shoving hands into his pockets.  
"That's good. I never liked him based on what you told me"  
"It got worse from there. Trust me"  
"Yeah, I can hear it" he nodded. Gajeel laughed weakly.  
"Well, welcome to the emotionally traumatized and shitty guild master club. I'm sure raindrop and fire prince'll love ya" he patted the elf's back.  
"Hope so. You're my only friend in this guild"   
"Better start than I had" he chuckled dryly.


	49. Chapter 49

"Oh how I love the joy of people crashing in my house" Laxus spoke dryly, keys fumbling in his grip as he attempted to unlock the door to his house.   
"I'm sorry that I don't have a house" Gajeel responded, looking at Cobra who tried not to laugh at the sarcastic tone.   
"Also look on the bright side, I don't have the strong urge to irritate you to hell and back so I won't touch your stuff" he offered.  
"Who gives you that urge?" Natsu asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion.  
"Fire prince. He gets really annoyed when I move his shit so I just keep doing it"  
"Are you sure you're friends?" The blond asked, pushing the door open and walking into his house.  
"Oh we are. Its just fun to piss him off" the iron slayer snickered walking in after Laxus.  
"I wish I could have been that laxed with Midnight. He hates being woken up to the point where he gets aggressive. It took the fun out of it" he shrugged, watching the iron slayer sit himself down on the couch and proceed to slouch down.  
"Really?" Laxus asks, looking at the iron slayer who chuckled in response. Laxus turns to Cobra.  
"Are you going to just stand there all day?" he asks. Cobra shakes his head and sits down on the couch, looking around the living room.  
"This place is......"  
"Posh?" the iron slayer asked.  
"No. Not that. Well decorated would be better"  
"This is well decorated to you? I wouldn't call it that" Laxus objected.  
"I'm used to the blank walls of our guild hall. Lots of blank, brick walls. Brain wasn't one for decorating"   
"No shit. The guy's a brick himself" Gajeel snorted, turning to look at the poison slayer. Laxus looked between the two then sighed.   
"I have the strong suspicion that you want to say something" Gajeel quickly pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the couch.  
"I'm glad you picked up what I was silently implying" he started. Natsu sat down in one of the chairs, listening intently to the conversation. Gajeel grabbed Cobra's wrist and presented his palm to the other two slayers. Laxus looked at it and blinked, shock written across his face"  
"How lon-?"  
"I was 12 when I got it" Cobra interrupted.   
"What age are you now?" Natsu asks, tilting his head.  
"I'm-"  
"Don't say 19"  
"I'm 19"   
"Fuck" Gajeel started snickering, being unable to control his laughter.  
"Don't laugh. You knew he was 19" Laxus accused.  
"Of course I knew. We hung out constantly for a year" he objected   
"Why are the three people in my house all just off of being teenagers?"  
"I mean I feel like I'm at least 27" Cobra objects.  
"Same though" Gajeel agrees, giving Cobra a knowing look.  
"Alright so what are we gonna do about this?" Natsu asks, looking at Laxus.   
"So he has the same mark as us, which means he likes you"  
"Yep. Bonus point that he fought Natsu because he was jealous"  
"I didn't know you guys were dating" Laxus objected.  
"I did but I didn't realize it was poly" Cobra pipes up, tilting his head for a second.  
"So?"   
"If I say yes then I'm officially dating three guys who are 4 years younger than me and all the same age" Laxus points in.  
"You had no problem with it before" Gajeel points out, foot tapping on the ground in a repeated rhythm.  
"Fine. I guess its not that bad" he sighs.   
"I'm not that bothered so long as his snake doesn't bite me again" Natsu pipes in.  
"I don't even know where Cubelious is. I lost her after our fight" he explained, matching the rhythm that Gajeel was making with a slight harmony that he tapped out on his knee.   
"Guess you'll be staying here till further notice" Laxus states.  
"You guessed correct" Cobra agrees.  
"I'm going to need to buy a bigger house" Laxus mumbles to himself.  
"Hey Gajeel, any recommendations on housing locations?" Natsu asks, looking at the iron slayer. He didn't answer the question, just kept tapping his foot on the ground in the repeated rhythm.   
"Gajeel?"  
"Hold up. He's zoned out. I've got this" the elf clears his throat.  
"Gajeel, attention" this brought the slayer back to the present as he looked around trying to figure out where he was before realizing and clearing his throat.  
"What's going on?" he asks, looking at the different people in the room with a sheepish look.  
"Laxus was saying he would need a bigger house"  
"Ah ok. So its a four person thing now"  
"Yes" Gajeel nods.  
"I had no idea you liked that song. I didn't take you for the lullaby type" Cobra speaks.  
"What song?" Natsu asks, looking around and trying to find the speaker that had been making noise that he did not hear.  
"Oh. It...... Metalicana sung it sometimes. It just..... I suddenly started thinking about it is all" he mumbles, fiddling with his fingers.  
"And one of the lyrics is 'the cost of ruling those 'neath your feet'?" he scoffed, crossing his arms only to get hit over the back of the head.   
"I didn't write it so don't go judgin me for the lyrics" Gajeel objected, crossing his arms.   
"By the way, since we're on the topic of songs. I'm gonna need your guitar" Cobra adds on making a grabbing motion. Natsu and Laxus look at Gajeel with surprise.  
"I don't know what guitar you're talking about" Gajeel coughed into his hand.  
"Nice try. I know you're faking that. You know exactly what guitar I'm talking about. The metal one you said Metalicana gave you" Cobra stated, looking at Gajeel with slight annoyance.  
"Oh yeah. That guitar. Yeah, its at my old place. Shame I don't ha-"   
"If you need the guitar so bad then why don't we just go over to your old place and get it" Natsu offers.  
"Umm. The house might be destroyed from the battle with Fairy tail so-"  
"That battle happened in Magnolia. What the hell are you talking about?" Laxus called out his lie straight away. Gajeel was left with an open mouth, unsure on what to say now that he'd been called out.  
"I'm getting the very strong sense that you don't want to go over to that house" Laxus points out. Gajeel doesn't say anything, instead biting his lip.  
"We'll go and get the guitar tomorrow. We can get any of your other things while we're there" Cobra explains.  
"And no backing out. I don't care what's hidden in that room. We're clearing it out" he adds on, pointing at Gajeel who said nothing in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lullaby that is referenced in this chapter is not mine. I'm not good with lyric writing. However after scouring Youtube for about an hour for lullabies, I found one that was so fitting for Au Gajeel. It talks so many things that fit this au so well and even a few things that'll make sense later. The song was a lullaby written for a Percy Jackson character. The song itself is called Soldatino and it will make some more appearances. It isn't just a one off mention.


	50. Chapter 50

"Alright. So where is your old place exactly?" Laxus asks, looking around the street of Oak town that led down from the train station.  
"Oak town" the iron slayer grumbled, hands shoved in his pockets.  
"We're in Oak town. You need to be specific"   
"A house"  
"He just wants to be difficult. Its this way" Cobra explains, taking the lead down the street and taking a turn where they followed this road until they turned onto another street. There was some graffiti sprayed on the walls, the area was shaded by the larger buildings of the main streets and any other light was blocked out by large oak trees that were planted in the middle of the street, each one with damaged wood and missing branches. Street lamps were either missing or busted out, leaving no light to reach this part of the town.  
"Who decided to plant trees in the middle of the road that would block out the natural light?" Laxus asked.  
"The mayor of the town who doesn't give a shit about the people who live on this street. There's a reason the houses here go for so cheap. It isn't a good place"  
"So why did you move here? Surely there was somewhere better to go. This town isn't exactly small" Natsu asks, looking confused.  
"I was in a rush to get an affordable place so I wouldn't be milking Totomaru and Juvia so as soon as I could, I began to pay for the cheapest place I could find. I didn't pick up that it was a shithole at first" he grumbled with a shrug of his shoulders. About halfway down the street, Gajeel stopped first and the others did too.  
"So how are we going to get in?" Natsu asked.  
"Bust the door down. I lost my keys after the phantom fairy fight so I don't have them anymore" he states with a shrug. The lightning mage walked up to the door and tried the handle which was indeed locked. He looked at the door before looking at the others. Gajeel walks up the steps then throws himself at the door which easily gives way, leaving him to fall to the floor.  
"Haha, worked that time" he yelled into the carpet, giving the three slayers behind him a thumbs up. Cobra rolled his eyes but stepped in. The other two followed.  
"Oh. Don't go in the fridge" Gajeel quickly calls when he sees the fire slayer in the kitchen.  
"Why not?" Natsu laughs, opening the fridge door only to slam it shut as he cover his nose, coughing.  
"I did warn you" Gajeel pointed out.  
"Why?"  
"I've not been here for months and I don't just eat iron. Speaking of which, be careful where you step. If I remember correctly, I sometimes found pieces of metal hidden away under things" he explains, looking around the living room.  
"I was honestly expecting more mess" the lightning mage voiced.  
"I ain't Natsu" he snorted.  
"Well, looks like it ain't here. Let's go"  
"Nice try. We haven't even searched your room" Cobra objected, walking up to the door and pushing it open. The room was sparsely decorated. The bed hadn't been slept in for a while, bed sheets perfectly hugging the mattress and pillows propped up against the headboard. The bedside table had two photo frames. One featuring three kids, a dark blue haired girl who held a teru teru bōzu in her hand as she looked at the camera with a half smile. A dual haired boy was next to her, one arm slung over her shoulder and a small smile. Sat slightly away from the two was a short haired boy, hair spiked at the ends. He had his legs crossed and his hands in between them, a dark purple mark on his neck and a scrape across his cheek. He was not smiling at all and didn't seem to be paying attention the camera in the slightest. The second frame had an old painting in it rather than a photograph. In the picture was the same black haired boy and two adults alongside him. The picture was faded slightly in certain spots. The faces of one adult was faded while the other appeared to be burned from some kind of fire, the edges dark and crisp. There was a slight sign of grey hair on the faded adult and azure hair that spiked slightly and didn't reach past the neck.  
"Who's this?" Laxus asked, picking up the frame and looking at it closer.  
"No one" Gajeel snaps, snatching the picture from Laxus' hand.  
"The kid looks like you" he points out.  
"Yeah. And? Metalicana told me that he found it in the village I lived in before he found me" he growls, holding the frame close to his chest. Natsu pops up nearby and looks at the picture.  
"Why is part of it burned?" he asks.  
"Because it just is. Alright." he grumbled, placing the picture back on the cabinet.  
"Why don't you just put it in a box. You can bring it back to mine instead of leaving it here" the blond offers, looking around the room for a box.  
"Oh my gods Gajeel. You have so many leather jackets" Natsu laughed, pulling out a jacket from the cupboard and pulling it on.  
"Take that off" Gajeel scolds.  
"You have my scarf so I should be allowed to wear one of your jackets" Natsu counters before he buries his nose into the fabric.  
"It still has your scent. Even if its faded" he smiles wide, wrapping himself up in the jacket. Laxus laughed at the fire mage's excitement about a jacket. Cobra meanwhile, was looking around the room before he finally reached a built in cupboard.   
"Is it in here?" he asks, looking at Gajeel.  
"N-no. That one's empty" he objects.  
"That means its in there" he stated, pulling the door of the cupboard. Gajeel turned away from the cupboard, refusing to look as the poison slayer looked in and found a box sitting in the cupboard, covered in an unneeded amount of tape and a piece of paper taped to the top reading 'Do NOT open'.   
"What's this box for?" he asks, looking towards the dragon who refused to look back.  
"Its not important. Just don't open that box" he objects, gripping onto his trouser leg and rubbing it with his thumb.  
"It can't be that bad" Natsu insists, walking towards the box. He picks it up and shakes the box. The motion is accompanied with the sound of clanging metal.  
"Is it metal scraps?" he asks, looking towards the iron slayer.  
"It doesn't matter......... Let's just...... get the clothes and pictures and leave" he responds, voice quivering ever so slightly. The sound of tape being cut soon filled the strange sensation in the air. Gajeel blinked a few times in succession, teeth sinking into his lip ever so slightly as he heard the sounds, knowing exactly what was coming up next. The two slayers that sat next to the box pulled the last of the tape back and lifted up the flaps to look inside the box.  
"Its a bunch of torn paper and metal scraps. Why weren't we supposed to open this?" Natsu asked, looking back at the iron slayer who refused to look at them.   
"That's not just metal scraps" Cobra's voice was quiet, almost breathless as he lifted up a piece of metal with 6 strings that had been cut short hanging from it.  
"What is that?" Laxus asked, trying to identify what the metal piece was supposed to be. Cobra didn't answer, instead he turned to the iron slayer who was still refusing to look at them.  
"This is why you didn't want us coming here. Isn't it?" he asked. Gajeel didn't answer, only tightened the grip on his trousers.  
"Wait. Is that the guitar?" Laxus asks, approaching the two slayers and looking into the box where chunks of shiny white metal lay in a heap of torn paper. Laxus reached into the box, pulling out a piece of paper. It had words written on it, some smudged and unreadable. The only readable words on the piece that the lightning mage had picked up was 'Stay' and 'praise'. He looked into the box which was filled with sheets like this. All disjointed sentences, phrased almost like poems. Like lyrics. The torn up remnants of a story never told.  
"What happened to it?" Cobra asked, standing up. He tried to listen to the slayer's inner voice but he couldn't decipher it. Too many thoughts running at once to make sense of it all. The iron slayer said nothing.  
"Gajeel, what happened to the guitar? I know you would never let anyone break it like that. Not with how you spoke of it" he repeated, staring at the dragon slayer's back. The slayer tightened his fists, his knuckles turning white.  
"I did" he whispered but the other three slayers caught it.  
"Liar!" The elf yelled, watching the other slayer closely, trying to figure out something. Anything.  
"I told you that I broke it!" he snapped, turning around to face the three slayers who all looked shocked at the slayer's sudden outburst. His eyes widened momentarily when he realised what he'd done. He turned away.  
"I should never have come here" he mumbled, voice breaking as he walked out of the room. He stumbled over to the couch and sat down on the floor next to it, hiding his face into his knees and hands wrapped around his legs. His body shook, hair falling over his shoulders.  
"Gajeel? Are you alright?"  
"Go away" He could hear them. They were all there.  
"But... your sad?" the questioning tone was clear. Gajeel gripped his trouser leg again but didn't lift his head up.  
"Just go. Go back to Magnolia. I'll.......... I'll come when I'm ready" he mumbled into his knees. He tried to keep his thoughts straight. Tried to keep any darker ones from lingering too long in his head but it didn't do much. His shoulders were grabbed in a firm grip.  
"Listen to me right now Gajeel Redfox. Nothing will be solved if you go and kill yourself. You'll only make the people around you feel horrible" Cobra argued, sounding almost out of breath when he finished.  
"What does it matter anyway? I dug myself into a shithole and the chances of me getting out of are low"  
"Bullshit. You have people who care for you. Who would be willing to help if you just told them what was going on"   
"Its not that easy"  
"And why isn't it"  
"Because you don't live in constant fear of the truth coming out and people treating you different or even casting you out for it" he snapped back, breathing heavy. That comment had a double meaning. Cobra knew it. He knew Gajeel's fear about being rejected and sold for money if anyone ever found out what he was. The other part wasn't as clear cut.  
"We aren't going to do those things if you just tell us what's going on" Laxus objected, kneeling down on the floor. Gajeel didn't answer.  
"You don't need to go full blown. Why don't you start by talking about the guitar?" he offers.  
"I......... Silas made me destroy it...... in front of him when-..... when I was 14........ He said that my music was shit and.........and that I should just destroy anything to do with it" he whispered, looking down at the floor.  
"What was so special about the guitar again?" Natsu asked.  
"It was a gift... from Metalicana. Its the only thing left of him that I have other than the song he wrote for me. It was made from his scales and given to me. I learned how to play on it...... I couldn't stand the knowledge that I destroyed the one thing he gave me....."  
"So you locked it away in hopes of forgetting it existed?"  
"It worked. For a while. I pretended that I'd never known how to play or write music. I resisted the urge to express myself through music. Its probably why I feel like shit all the time. But then you brought it up and it brought all of that back. Like opening a flood gate"   
"You should have said something. You can write and sing all you want in the house. I don't care. If it helps you to feel better then it would normally" Laxus offers.  
"Thanks. I'd appreciate that" he agreed. It went silent.  
"Just a warning before you go under my bed> I have sorcerer weekly clippings of Salamander under there"  
"What the hell? Are you my stalker or something?"  
"No. I have them because I wanted to know more about the only dragon slayer that I was aware of at the time" he corrected, giving him a look.  
"Well let's just get this over with so that we can head back. I think this place hasn't been the best experience" Laxus cuts in, standing up from the ground and stretching.  
"Yeah. That's a good idea. I'd love to get this place behind me"  
"Bring whatever you want. You can even bring those old photos if you want" he offers.  
"I think I will" he agrees, heading back towards his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally reached 50 chapters. And I'm not even at the Tenrou arc yet. Then again, I'm coming up for the Edolos arc so I guess its not that bad. Things are going to get a lot more...... let's say complicated soon.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note before I start, a couple elements for the Edolos arc were inspired by another fanfic on AO3 and Wattpad. That fic was written by an author called Lilykotsu and was actually part of my insperation for writing this fic in the first place. Their Edolus arc really helped me formulate mine. They're also the reason I can't get Cobra being an elf out of my head and its now a headcanon that lives rent free in my head.

The guild was its usual rambunctious self, yelling, drinking, and a fight occurring between Natsu and Gray over who was the strongest.   
"Are they always like this?" the maroon haired mage asks, watching the squabble take place in the middle of the guild hall.  
"Yeah. They are" The iron slayer sighed before a crash of thunder echoed outside.  
"Fuckin Serena. Raindrop, is that you?" he asks, turning to the rain woman who was sat on the opposite side of the table.  
"Juvia doesn't think so. Juvia would be sad if Juvia caused the rain and Juvia is not sad" she objects before turning to watch the fight again, squealing happily when the ice mage lost his shirt in the squabble.  
"Calm down Juvia. He's just a shirtless guy is all" Totomaru snorted, leaning his back against the table. Another crash of thunder followed.  
"Its getting pretty bad out there. Did anyone go out?" the dual mage adds on, looking out the window at the darkening sky.  
"The she-demon and her brother went out. I think I saw sky warrior go as well but I think she went after that cat of hers" he explained, crossing his arms.  
"Hold on. Didn't you go cat searching earlier?" the elf asks, raising an eyebrow at the slayer.  
"Yeah. None of the cats were good enough"  
"You got scratched didn't you"  
"Shut up" Cobra snickered which was followed by another, much louder crash of thunder outside.  
"I don't know what's worse. In here or out there" Cobra joked, leaning against the windowsill behind him.  
"At least its warm in here" the iron slayer countered. Another loud crash erupted but this time the noise around them was different, almost sounding like they were underwater. Then everything was white and the slayer felt like he couldn't breath. He quickly maneuverer through the white, finally breaking out onto the surface where only white dust was left. Gajeel coughed slightly which was followed by a sneeze as he cleared his pipes of the dust. He pulled himself out of the piled up dust and shook himself, letting the dust that clung to his hair fall off.  
"Hey, any of you shits alive?" he called, looking around the vast landscape of white but saw and heard nothing. He sniffed the air but no scents drifted to him at all.   
"What the hell is goin' on here?"  
"Anima did this" someone spoke behind him. He turned around, coming face to face with a blue haired man.  
"Wait.. Ain't you Mystogan"  
"Yes. That is me" he agrees.  
"How come I didn't smell ya approachin' me then" he challanged.  
"I would guess picking up a smell in this would be quite hard, what with all the dust everywhere"   
"Alright, then what's Anima?" he asks, straightening himself.  
"That is" he points towards the sky where the clouds swirled harshly.  
"So the entire guild's in there?"  
"And the town. I need some people to go ahead" he explains.  
"Fine. I'll go" he grumbles before being given a bottle.   
"What the hell's this for.  
"Take one of those. They'll allow you to use magic-"  
"Alright so I just give em to anyone I meet"  
"Yes but you should be especially careful. They don't prevent magic circles from loosing their strength" he continues.  
"How did you-"  
"I specialise in magic circles. If you know what to look for its easy to see the enchantment that's been placed on you. It will begin failing the moment you reach Anima"  
"Alright so I'll look different. It ain't a big deal"  
"I don't think you're understanding. It will slowly start to fail. Whatever it is you're hiding, it will slowly start to come out"  
"Ah fuck me. Fine. Whatever. I'll go" he grumbles, popping off the bottle lid and dropping a pill into his mouth.  
"I'll send you in. Keep a look out for anyone you recognise. And use your dragon slayer magic on the Lacrima when you find it. It will allow you to turn the guild and townspeople to be returned to normal"  
"Alright. I got it. Just send me up. I wanna fight some assholes" he grumbles. Flashes of light soon filled his vision before he was falling from a great height, catching himself on a tree.  
"Asshole could have warned me of the drop" he grumbled, slowly climbing down the tree until he was able to land on two feet. He looked around.  
"What the hell even is this place?" he grumbled, pulling the jacket closer. He looked down and noticed small grey scales forming in a tiny patch along the back of his hand.  
"Shit, already?" he growled, shoving his hand into his jacket pocket.   
"Better get this done with then" The iron slayer began trudging through the grass, looking for any sign of life other than those weird animals. A strange creature started sniffing his boot.  
"If you piss on me then I'm punting you to the nearest town" he threatens. He looks over the little creature. It had the body type of a fox, lots of fur. However it had reptilian claws, some small scales patched around its eyes, nose and paws and instead of a big bushy tail, it had a long narrow one that was twice the size of its body with fur that spiked out right at the end. Two small horns sat between its ears and a long tongue was hidden between sharp teeth. The little creature looked at him and made a happy chirp noise.  
"Go away" he hisses at it, flicking his hand at it before walking forward again. He stopped when he could hear the pawsteps of the creature following him.  
"What do ya want?" he demands, looking at the little creature. It happily chirps again, tail swishing happily.  
"Stop followin' me" he growls before continuing his walk. He stops not far from a city and turns back. The creature was still following him.   
"Ugh fine. You can follow me I guess" he grumbles. The little creature chirps happily and runs forward, nuzzling into his leg and looking up at him with big eyes. He looks away from it and walks into town, looking around. People looked at him with cautious looks, refusing to come near him. He spots someone and walks over to them.  
"Oi. Have you seen-" he was interrupted when the guy stumbled over his feet and ran away.  
"I haven't even said a full sentance. What the hell?" the slayer then turns to the little creature.  
"Is it you?" all he gets in response is a chirp. Gajeel sighs heavily and turns away, walking further into the town and getting the same results.   
"Why is this so fuckin difficult?" he snapped, flexing his fingers until he winced when something sharp pricked his hand. He looked, noticing the small droplet of blood. He turns his hand around to look at his nails which had grown out slightly and sharped at the tip. He checked his other hand but it had yet to change from its human appearance.  
"Fuck" he hissed out, his fingers twitching as his nails clinked together. The little creature chirped at his side, almost like it was mimicking him.   
"Don't you start" he grumbled, looking around. Anyone who made eye contact with him would immediately turn away. He growled before seeing something flash past his gaze. He took a hold of the hood of their jacket, pulling them close so he could look at them.  
"A-ah. Gajeel. Look, I have nothing that you'd be interested in. I swear. I've heard nothing. Just let me go" the guy pleaded, trying to get out of the iron slayer's grip.  
"How do you know my name?" he demanded, leaning his head in closer. The guy tugged on his hood, tugging it free. The moment he realised he was free, he sprinted away in the direction he'd been heading in before. The iron slayer growled under his breath before feeling a nip against his ear. He reached up and ran two fingers across the outer shell. The shape had changed, it was more elf like now. He quickly pulled his hand away from his ear, instead grabbing at hair and hiding his ear.   
"What I wouldn't give for Erik's earrings right now" he mutters under his breath. He suddenly feels something pulling at his leg. He looks down and notices the creature which had been pawing at his leg. It realises that he's noticed it and looks over to a pub.  
"Alright, I'll get ya somethin ta eat" he grumbles, walking up to the bar. He pushes the door open and several heads turn to look at him. He ignores them and walks up to the bar counter.   
"One cup of water and....... I dunno. What do these things eat?" he asks the bartender, gesturing to the creature at his feet. It looks up at the guy before stepping closer to the iron slayer and hissing at the bartender.  
"You brought a wild animal into my bar?"  
"It followed me and its hungry so just give it something to eat" he snapped back, glaring down at the bar tender.  
"Whatever" he grumbled. He ducked down, picking up a glass before he walked around to the back. He came back with a full chicken leg, placing it on the table. The creature leapt up and snatched it off the counter, chewing at the meat it had been provided. The dragon chuckled a little and sat down, taking a drink of his water. He was ready to get up and leave when he twitched his ears.  
"I heard there's this big Lacrima in the capital. Sounds pretty great if its true, you know" someone was conversing with their friends at one of the tables. Gajeel stood up and walked over. He slammed his hand down on the table to get their attention but another hand joined his on the table. He looked at the source of the hand. Someone, probably his age with curly black hair and a pair of glasses that were slipping down his nose ever so slightly.  
"Oh shit. There's two of them now. Let's get out of here" one of the guys yelled, scrambling to his feet and quickly leaving the table. His friends soon joined him, refusing to be anywhere near the two men. Anyone else in the pub looked towards them but neither payed attention.  
"Who the hell are you?" Gajeel challenged, looking at the dark haired man in front of him.  
"I could ask you the same question" he offered, pushing the glasses up so that they weren't teetering on the edge of falling off.  
"I'm Gajeel. Now answer my question"  
"I think you're mistaken. I'm Gajeel" he corrected, crossing his arms and looking pointedly at the iron slayer. The iron slayer blinked for a second.  
"That asshole said nothing about replicas" he hissed under his breath. The other Gajeel looked down, spotting the creature that was finishing off the scraps on the chicken bone, long tongue swiping along it.   
"What is that doing in here?"  
"It ain't doing anythin wrong"  
"That's a Nyfern. They are known to be aggressive to people. They never come into town" he explains, adjusting his glasses as he looks down at the creature. It lifts its head up before wandering over to Gajeel and leaning into his legs with a flick of his tail. The iron slayer bends down and chuckles.   
"So you're a little fighter then" he smirked, offering it his scaling over hand. It sniffed it then licked him with the tongue.  
"Interesting. I've never seen anyone be able to tame a Nyfern like that. How did you do it?"  
"He just smelled me then began following me into town"   
"You should come with me. I need to hear more about this. Besides, I know someone who would be extremely festinated by this" he explained, gesturing to the door.   
"Alright fine. I'm looking for some people anyway"


	52. Chapter 52

"You weren't quite the guy I was expecting to get stuck with if I'm being honest" the lightning mage said, walking with his hands shoved into his pockets.  
"Hey, I know you aren't exactly used to me being around but you don't need to be so rude" the poison slayer snapped in return, crossing his arms as his ears twitched.  
"That's not what I meant" He objects, letting out a hefty sigh. Cobra looks at him from the corner of his eye before looking in another direction.  
"Hey. Get back here young man" someone yelled as they walked. Both slayers, believing the woman was speaking to someone else, continued walking, ignoring the woman. Both were wrong when Cobra was pulled back by someone grabbing his hood.  
"You and your friend should be ashamed of yourselves, taking photos of people without their permission" the woman scolded.  
"Oh. I'm sorry that I just happened to walk into this town. Turns out the people here are shit" Cobra scoffs, pulling at his hood and turning his back to the woman who kept insisting that he apologize for taking those photos.  
"Why are people such assholes?" he grumbles, running a hand through his hair.  
"Good question, but I don't have an answer to that" Laxus replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Cobra snorted in it before stopping.  
"By the way, someone's coming from that way" he states. The lightning mage looks back at the elf before someone runs right into him, falling backwards. Cobra steps forward, catching a camera with his foot, the strap springing it up to hit against his leg before letting it swing. The elf kept his balance for a few minutes before he began falling backwards. Laxus reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back up before he hit the ground. He looks at the lightning mage for a second before turning away.  
"Thanks, I guess" he mumbles, reaching his free hand forward and pulling the camera from his foot so that he could hold it. He place his foot back on the ground and turned to the person on the floor.  
"Why don't you watch where you're going" Laxus grumbled, looking down at the person. They rubbed the side of their head before pushing themselves to their feet, brushing dust from the hoodie and jeans that they were wearing. They began looking around, trying to find something.  
"Hey, if you're looking for the camera it's here" Cobra grumbled, holding it out. The device swung on its strap and hit against their shoulder. They turned, meeting Cobra's gaze with purple eyes that lit up at the sight of the camera. They bowed in gratitude before taking the camera from the elf's hands and looking through the lens right at him.  
"I don't do photos" he objected, holding up a hand to block the lens from taking a photo. The dark-skinned male then turned to Laxus and gave a bright smile before moving his hands around.  
"I don't know what that means" he explains but the maroon haired male kept moving his hands around. Cobra leaned forward and tapped his shoulder, getting his attention. He gestured to his ear, trying to get some kind of answer but nothing useful popped up. Cobra sighed and ran his hands ver his face.  
"I can't find a name anywhere in his head. Just stuff about you. He knows your name for some reason" he explains.  
"I never told him my name. How does he know it?"  
"I don't know. Ask him" he countered. Laxus turned to him.  
"How do you know my name?" he asks but the maroon haired male just looked at him. He blinked once then pulled a notebook from the pocket of his hoodie, a pen attached to the notebook.  
"You had that. Just give it here" Cobra groaned, snatching the pad from his hand and writing on the page. He turned the pad to him and listened into his head.  
'Erik' He was in the process of lifting his hands up but Cobra pushed them back down before he could start moving them about again.  
"His name's Erik" Cobra relays to Laxus, lowering his hand.  
"Isn't that what Gajeel calls you?"  
"Yes. That's what he calls me" he mumbles, scribling on the page again. He lifts the page up for Erik to see and waits, ears twitching.  
'Gajeel is out looking for a story' Cobra writes on the page and holds it up again.  
'I don't know where he is but I know where he'll be going. Follow me' Erik turns around and begins walking along the road. Laxus looks to Cobra.  
"He's leading us to where Gajeel is going to be. Let's just follow" he sighs, begining to walk. Along the way, his ears twitched as he picked up on the sound of a vehicle approaching along the town's road.  
"Erik, there's a car coming" he yells to the maroon haired male but he just kept walking. Laxus stepped forward and grabbed the hood of Erik, lifting him up and off the road as the vehicle sped past, leaving a spray of dust and grit in its wake. Erik looked in the direction of the car before it seemed to occur to him that he nearly got hit by it. Laxus dropped him onto the ground, leaving him to sit in the dirt.  
"Are you airheaded or something?" he grumbles, crossing his arms . Erik didn't respond, instead getting to his feet and taking the lead across the pathway again. They reached a two floored house.  
"Why would Gajeel be here?"  
"How am I supposed to know?" The door to the building was pushed open and entered the house. Erik turned into a room filled with papers and developed photos that were scattered across every surface and the floor. At one of the desks, hidden halfway behind a pile of paper was a hunched over shape. Erik walked over and tapped his shoulder, getting the attention of whoever was sat at the desk. They sat up quickly, a few papers fluttering with the movement. He adjusted a pair of glasses sitting on his nose and looked at the maroon haired male. He leaned around him and looked at the two slayers that stood in the hallway.  
"Who are you?" he asks, raising an eyebrow while removing the glasses and placing them gently on the desk.  
"I'm Cobra and this is Laxus. We're looking for-"  
"That doesn't make sense. Laxus isn't exactly a common name"  
"And? My parents gave me the name. I didn't just wake up one day and decide that it would be my name" he stated before looking at Cobra when the slayer raised an eyebrow at it.  
"Not that there's anything wrong with that" he quickly adds. The blond in front of them places his thumb against his lip, looking at the wall and mumbling something to himself.  
"Who even is this guy?" Laxus asks.  
"Oh. I didn't introduce myself. Shit. I meant to. My bad. I'm Laxus....... last name classified" he explains, holding out a hand for the two to shake.  
"Well, my name isn't classified so its Dreyar" Laxus replied, looking cautiously at the blond's hand before shaking it.  
"Oh. I'm guessing you know Erik then"  
"Yeah. He said he'd bring us to where Gajeel would be"  
"You know Gajeel?" The front door opened and someone just about ran into Laxus' back.  
"Laxus? When did you get so.......... buff?"  
"Not me Gajeel" The curly haired male leaned to the side to see the unscared blond standing behind Laxus.  
"We should probably go to the living room. Its getting kind of cramped in this hallway" (E)Gajeel finally speaks, looking down the hallway towards another room. Agreement went all around the group and they began migrating towards the other room.


	53. Chapter 53

"Alright, I think I have a rough idea of what's going on now" (E)Gajeel finally spoke, a finger up to his mouth. (E)Laxus was distracted by the Nyfern, his glasses back on his face as he scribbled on a notebook, clearly trying to get as much as he could from this.  
"Don't mind him. I don't think he's even seen a Nyfern before" (E)Gajeel explained, watching the male. His shirt was pulled and Erik signed something directed to him. Gajeel watched it.  
"If I'd known he was deaf, then I wouldn't have kept saying things" Laxus grumbled, putting his head in his hands as he looked at the wall.  
"So you're saying you don't know sign language?" Laxus turned to the long-haired dragon slayer.  
"Care to explain why you do?"  
"It's a backup. Never know when you might lose your voice or hearing after a fight. Totomaru and Juvia know it too. We use it to communicate on missions when we need to be quiet"  
"Who's Totomaru and Juvia?" (E)Gajeel asked, raising a studded eyebrow. Gajeel looked shocked.  
"You aren't friends with them?"  
"I don't even know who that is"  
"I know Totomaru" (E)Laxus offered, looking up from his notepad.  
"Well, I don't know him as much as I've met him. He's part of the royal guard. Never really knew him, though. He was really weird," he explains, chewing on the end of his pencil at the end.  
"Well, we must get to the capitol to find this Lacrima you're looking for. We can help you to a certain point, but then you'll be on your own. We aren't really the, head on fighting type. We can head out tomorrow. It will be less suspicious if we go out during the day" (E)Gajeel explained, standing up from the couch and heading to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and looked inside.  
"Well. Looks like we're out of food. Which one of you finished the food?" he called to the other two. (E)Laxus looked down at the floor, placing one hand behind his head.  
"Thought as much. Come on. We'll go get food. The three of you should stay here, keep a low profile for the night" (E)Laxus got to his feet, tapping Erik on the shoulder and gesturing to the doorway. The three went back out into the hall and leaving the group alone in the living room.  
"You didn't just learn sign language for the reasons you listed, did you?"  
"Ok, no. I once lost my hearing for a couple weeks because of a 'prank' one of the phantom lord members pulled on me. It really threw me off and made shit hard. Trust me, you don't want to suddenly go deaf with no way of communicating with others. Its shit" he explained, pulling on his hair and fiddling with it. The Nyfern chirped and dug claws into his leg to pull itself onto his lap. Gajeel hissed at the sudden piercing pain from that.  
"What was that?" Cobra snorted.  
"Shut up, the little shit has sharp claws" he snapped back. Cobra shrugged in response. Gajeel looked at him but said nothing in response.

When the lightning mage finally woke up the next morning, he felt something wrapped around his wrist. He lifted up his other hand and rubbed over his eyes before sitting up. He turned to look at the wrist. A long white, almost whip like bone structure was wrapped around his wrist. The structure slowly trailed towards Gajeel, coming from where his tail bone would be. He tapped the bone and nearly jumped out of his skin when Gajeel quickly sat up.  
"Where's the danger?!" he snarled, looking around the room before his gaze landed on Laxus. And then the bone. He took hold of it and pulled it behind him.  
"What the hell was that?"  
"Nothing"  
"Bullshit. That wasn't nothing"  
"Why are you both yelling? You're too loud, " Cobra grumbled, propping himself on his shoulders with half-opened eyes and extreme bed hair.  
"Its nothing" Gajeel explained, looking to the side. Cobra sat up, rubbing his eyes with his arm before looking at the two.  
"Is your magic acting up again?" he asks, looking over the slightly altered appearance of the iron slayer. Quickly picking up on what Cobra was doing, he nodded.  
"Yeah, the magic deficiency is giving me problems with my magic" he chuckled, giving a sharp toothed smile. The lightning slayer looked at him suspiciously but said nothing. He just pushed himself to his feet and walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water.  
"Let's just get this over with. I would really love to get back to Magnolia and just sit at the bar with a drink. This place is just weird" he explains, filling up the glass and taking a drink.  
"We can all agree with that" Cobra sighed, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes. The Nyfern chirped sleepily, lifting its head up from where it had been curled up next to Gajeel.  
"So when are we gonna lose that thing?"  
"I dunno. When it decides to stop following me. Whenever that is" he replies, long nails pressed against his face as he looked at it. 


	54. Chapter 54

"We finally got rid of those guys. Now what?" Natsu asks, looking around the room.  
"Well, I have this key now so we should go deal with the canon" Gray explained, placing a hand on his hip.  
"Its not very ideal to be saying your plans outloud" someone explained. The three turned to look at the owner of the voice. A guy with long, dual hair was leaned against a wall, a cigarette held between his fingers which he raised up to his lip and took a drag of it before releasing the smoke.  
"Totomaru? I thought you were with Lily" Coco asked.  
"Totomaru?!" The three fairies yelled in unison, looking at the guy in front of them. He flicked the cigerette onto the ground.  
"Why would I be with that Exceed?" he scoffed, stomping it out.  
"But-"  
"Hush. Children should be seen and not heard"  
"What the hell? That was rude" Natsu snapped, pointing to the mage.  
"And why should I care?" he asked. The fire mage leapt forward, fists ablaze. Totomaru lifted up his sword and used it to prevent the hit from stricking. Natsu leapt back and stared at him for a few seconds.  
"Hey Lucy, flirt with him. He likes girls right" he finally speaks, turning to Lucy.  
"What? I'm not doing that" she snapped in return.  
"If you're quite done with your little quarrel" Totomaru sighed, the sword leaned over his shoulder. Natsu turns back to him again, ready to attack before he's hit along the back of the head by someone.   
"Erza? I could have taken them myself" Totomaru grumbles, sheathing his sword again and crossing his arms.  
"You could help me tie them up" she points out. He looks at the mages.  
"I think I'll leave that to you" he scoffed.  
"Really? He's petty?" Gray yells before he's pinned down by Knightwalker. Before she can get a hold of Lucy and Coco, the two manage to get away.  
"Are you going to get them?"  
"No. You could go though" he snorts, looking away. Knightwalker sighs heavily but pulls Natsu onto his feet. Totomaru picks up on what's going on and grabs onto Gray, pulling him to his feet and leading him towards the canon room. The king looks down at the group as the dual haired knight pushed Gray to the floor and proceeded to look at the chipped polish on his nails instead, running one finger over the nails.  
"We lost the key for the canon but this one can make a copy of it that will work" Knightwalker explained, gesturing towards the ice mage. Totomaru raised his hand in a fist and hit it against Gray's head.  
"Make the key for him" he ordered. Gray lifted up his hands shakily and made the key. It was taken from his hands and handed to one of the guards who took it over to the canon. They plugged it in and turned the key, firing up the canon which hummed to life. Knightwalker leaned towards Natsu, whispering something before she raced forward, sword drawn. She swung around, sword placed up to the neck of the king.  
"Knightwalker, you traitor" he spat, looking at the scarlet haired mage. She quickly changed back to her usual armour.  
"Aim the canon at the lacrima" she demanded while Gray and Natsu made sure to keep a defensive ground.   
"Don't listen to her. Fire at the island. Don't let this opportunity go to waste" he yelled. None of the guard listened to him, not wanting to put their king's life in jeprody. Before the canon was fired, someone leapt down and pushed Erza away.   
"Totomaru, did you know" Knightwalker snapped at him. He didn't stop looking at his nails, ignoring the chaos that was unfolding around him. He gave an unenthusiastic shrug in response. Knightwalker grumbled something under her breath before turning her attention back to Erza but she was already making an escape with the other fairies.   
"Totomaru. Stop them" she demanded. He looked up from his nails to the retreating figures of the fairies. He then turned back to Knightwalker. He didn't move, instead began fiddling with his own hair.  
"You're useless"  
"Don't push me and maybe I'll get shit done" he grumbled before turning around and finally walking out of the room to follow the mages.  
"That was a pretty good trick" Gray complemented Erza.  
"Now's not the time. We need to go help Gajeel, Laxus and Cobra before that Lacrima crashes and all of Magnolia is lost" she objects, running forward.  
"Guys. Over here" someone yelled.  
"Lucy?" the fire slayer asked, looking out from the balcony.   
"Come on. We can get to the lacrima using this Legion" Coco encouraged.  
"Wait. Why are you helping us?" Gray asks, climbing onto the Legion's back.  
"Because having eternal magic means nothing if I can't share it with Lily" she responds, wiping tears from her eyes as she instructs the legion to fly upward.   
"There. Its the Lacrima" Erza yelled, gesturing to the island that was in the process of colliding with Extalia. Natsu looked over the edge of the Legion, spotting the three slayers on the island.   
"There. I can see them" he yells, gesturing to the slayers.  
"Gajeel, Laxus, Cobra. We need you to destroy the lacrima" Erza yelled down at them. All three looked up.  
"Is that Erza?" the lightning mage asks, trying to pinpoint her but the Legion flys down and slams its head into the side of the island, making the entire thing jolt from the impact. Gajeel stumbled backward, hitting against the lacrima. He rubbed the back of his head. He looked up at the lacrima, ready to use his magic on it but he was pulled away by Panther Lily.  
"She expects us to bust this thing up when there's a cat that's guarding it" he grumbled.   
"Let's help them out. The more power we can provide, the better chance we have of getting this lacrima away safely" Laxus stated before turning to the edge and joining the group in their attempt to push the island away. Cobra looked at Gajeel.  
"I'm joining him. Have fun with the cat" he yelled, running off.  
"Assholes. Don't leave me to do all the work" he yelled. He clicked a finger before falling to his knee with a hiss of pain.   
"Why now? Couldn't ya have waited" he spat out just as the pain came to a peak when a long wing shaped bone structure burst through his skin just slightly off from his left shoulder blade.  
"You know what screw it. I'm going down there"  
"What do you think you're doing? We aren't done here" Lily snapped, swishing his tail.   
"Oh don't worry. I'm coming back. You will be my cat even if I have to drag you to Fairy tail myself" he stated.   
"Oh and keep an eye on that Nyfern. I'd rather it doesn't die during this" he explained before jumping down between the two islands next to Erza.  
"Gajeel? Get back up there. You're suppossed to be breaking the lacrima"  
"Well if you'd like to fight the black cat then be my guest" he snapped.  
"Never mind the cat. Just push" Gray yelled, ignoring the pair that were bickering. Lily flew up from the island. The Nyfern was sat on the island before it jumped down onto the back of the iron slayer and pushed its head against the rock.  
"Oh you wanna help now. Fine go ahead" Gajeel told it which was greated with a chirp from the little creature who swished its tail.   
"Do you guys hear that?" Cobra asked.   
"Hear what?" Lucy asked before something flew past and hit into the rock.  
"Carla. You're alright" More exceeds soon followed until finally the lacrima was pushed back from the island. It was soon swept up in magic, knocking all the exceeds and mages off it. An exceed grabbed onto Gajeel, holding him up as he took hold of the Nyfern that chirped while looking up at him.   
"What is that?" Gray asked, looking at the creature.  
"Its apparently called a Nyfern. Things been glued to me since I arrived. Kinda attached to the guy now" he joked, letting the Nyfern tug on his morphed ear with his teeth.  
"And what about the modifactions"  
"Ugh, magic issues" he covered, pretending that he was paying attention to the Nyfern instead.   
"So we can go home now right?" Natsu asks, tilting his head.  
"This kinda seems to easy" Laxus argued, looking over at Mystogen.  
"Laxus? No wait you're Earthland Laxus" Mystogen points out, looking at the lightning mage.  
"You know the Edolus Laxus?" Erza asks.  
"Yes. I haven't seen him in seven years so I thought you were him. I do apologise" he explained. Before anything else could be said, A beam of light was shot, hitting Lily through the stomach. The Exceed lost his control of his magic and began falling, disappearing amongst the trees.  
"Lily!" both Shagot and Mystogen yelled. Another Exceed assured the queen that she would make sure that Lily was alright and flew down to find him.   
"This can't worse" Laxus grumbles.   
"Thanks for jynxing us genius. Look" Gajeel grumbled before he gestured down towards the ground where a large metalic dragon uncurled.  
"Oh for fucks sake" the lightning mage yelled. 


	55. Chapter 55

"How can these humans possibly damage the Dorma Anim?" Faust yelled, looking down at the five slayers.  
"I'm just about done with this shit. Let's beat this old guy's ass and get home," Laxus stated, cracking his neck.  
"Nyfern. Go find somewhere to hide for now" the slayer instructs the small creature. It chirps and quickly jumps in for cover.  
"I'll kill all five of you" Faust yelled firing an attack at the group. Laxus used his lightning body to avoid the attack, bringing Wendy with him while the other three jumped out of the way. Laxus used his height as an advantage, sending a blast of lightning down at the dragon armour. He landed on the ground and placed Wendy down, who looked up at him with surprise.  
"Keep her safe" he ordered.  
"We just need to fight off what it throws at us" Natsu states, cracking his knuckles with a big smile spread across his face.  
"Don't get to cocky. We don't know what this old geezer has in store for us" Gajeel objected, slightly armoured tail swishing behind him. The Dorma Anim stepped forward, firing a large beam at the group who all dodged in different methods. When Gajeel landed, the lip of his tail hit a rock and he hissed in response.  
"What the hell was that about?" Natsu yelled.  
"You try having bone showing and tell me what that does for your nerves" he snapped back.  
"I see" the king chuckled.  
"Oh, shit" he whispered before it sent a missile right at him. He avoided the attack, although the explosion knocked him off balance, sending him into some rumble. Another pained hiss escaped his mouth as he tried to move his wing bone away from the rock. The king moved forward, stretching a claw out to grab at the iron slayer. He picked him up by the wing bone, leaving the slayer hissing at the metal scrapping the exposed bone.  
"Gajeel!"  
"You'll do nicely" he chuckled, ready to take a proper hold of the slayer. Instead, Gajeel sunk his teeth into the metal.  
"Are you insane?" He yells. Gajeel lets go and turns to the other slayers.  
"Keep attacking him. I'll be fine" he yells. Laxus and Natsu hesitate to attack while Cobra runs forward, hand covered in poison.  
"Poison dragon scales" he yells, sending the attack right at the chest of the dragon armour, only just missing the iron slayer. Laxus is next to finally move, charging up his body with electricity and sending the attack right at the armour. The lightning travels bounces from metal to metal, being attracted to the scales that were patchy across Gajeel's skin. He raised his hand and bit into it, doing his best to keep any pain a secret for now so that the other slayers wouldn't stop attacking the king. Faust sent another missile at the group, but Natsu deflected it, sending it right back at him. It exploded and sent fire and debree in every direction.  
"Laxus, I'll strengthen your magic. You have to send another attack at him. We can try and knock him out," Wendy explained to the lightning slayer. Laxus looked towards the half conscious form of Gajeel.  
"If anything happens to him, then I'll quickly heal him" she assures him before casting an arms spell on the lightning slayer.  
"Alright then. Lightning Dragon Raging Bolt" he yelled, sending a lightning blast down upon the Dorma Anim.  
"Did that work?" Cobra asks, watching as the lightning dissipate from the armour. Natsu ran forward, using a jutting rock to push himself up and attack the arm that clung onto the iron slayer with fire covering his hand. The king let go of Gajeel, dropping him to the ground as he hit it with a heavy thud.  
"Gajeel!"  
"I'm on it" Wendy ran towards him, hooking her arms under his and attempting to pull him back. Cobra ran over and helped her get him in a sheltered spot.  
"We'll cover you. Just make sure he'll be able to get back on his feet" he instructed before running back to join the fighting. She turned to Gajeel.  
"Gajeel, can you hear me?" she asks. He opens one eye.  
"Sky warrior? That you?"  
"Oh, thanks gods you're alive" she let out a breath.  
"Where does it hurt?"  
"You want to give you the details or would everything suffice?" he chuckled. She hit his head.  
"Now is no time for jokes" she scolded before her face softened again.  
"I was bein' serious. Sparky's lightning does not mix well with my scales" he grumbled.  
"Alright. I'll do my best to help" she assured him, holding her hands above him as they glowed.  
"Is it helping?" she asked.  
"Not really" he responded before wincing when a small spark snapped at his scales.  
"Think, think. How am I going to fix this" she mumbled to herself. She yelped in surprise when white light washed over the island which was accompanied with the screams of the other slayers. The three slayers hit the ground.  
"Oh, no" Wendy mumbled, tears building up in her eyes. Gajeel moved beside her and she looked. He was sitting up, one hand placed on the ground to push himself to his feet.  
"Wait Gajeel, you can't"  
"I ain't stepping out just yet. I'd rather fight than sit back and watch" he growled, pushing himself to his feet. He stumbled to the other three slayers side.  
"Gajeel. What are you doing?"  
"Fightin' this dragon, obviously. I have an idea" he explains. Wendy runs up beside them.  
"We all gotta roar together. Combine our attacks into one"  
"Let's hope this works" The five slayers stood ready, gathering as much air as they could into their lungs before firing an attack right at the Dorma anim, causing an explosion of different elements.  
"Did we get him?" the lightning mage asks, taking deep breaths to replenish the air lost from his breath attack.  
"Up there" Wendy yelled, pointing up toward the armour that was slowly falling to the ground.  
"Are you kidding me?" that comment was followed up with multiple explosions around the five, knocking them all to the ground.  
"Are you done now? You're all out of magic power. The only choice you have left is to surrender" Faust laughed. Natsu forced himself to his feet, panting heavily. The dragon armour lifted a foot and brought it down upon the fire slayer. Gajeel scrambled to his feet, pushing himself forward and knocking the fire dragon out of the way but being struck himself.  
"Gajeel. What were you thinking?" Natsu grabbed the foot with both hands and put as much strength into the action. He threw the armour back, causing it to land on the ground. Gajeel coughed, blood coming up and splashing on the ground.  
"Why?"  
"Cause, my scales....... are tougher" he muttered, voice weak and being interrupted by a cough that was accompanied with blood. He stumbled to his feet.  
"Don't you even dare!" Cobra yelled, pushing himself to his feet. The iron slayer ignored him, instead running forward, his arm morphing as he pinned down one of foot of the Dorma anim.  
"You ain't goin' anywhere. Quick! Hit him with everything you've got" The four slayers hesitated.  
"Do it. While he's still pinned down," Wendy took in a powerful breath, releasing it so that she could project the fire slayer forward. He covered himself with fire and used the attack to break the armour and grab Faust before he fell to the ground. Gajeel released his grip and let his head drop to the ground. Wendy ran over.  
"Are you alright?" she got a cough in response. She raised her hands, but it affected little.  
"I'm still having trouble healing him. I don't understand. What is it I'm doing wrong?" She was on the verge of tears.  
"Oi, Sky warrior" Gajeel croaked, looking up at her with one eye. She looked at him.  
"Here. Put your hands right here" he instructs, using his tail to gesture to his abdomen. She did as instructed.  
"Now..... you have to use your magic but don't remove your hands until its finished. It won't work otherwise" he continued. She nodded, activating her magic. Her hands glowed as a magic circle appeared below them. It shone golden, weakened from the lack of magic feeding it.  
"What is that?" Natsu asks, stumbling over while holding onto Faust.  
"Please don't die" Wendy begged, closing her eyes before she felt a tug at her hands. She opened them again and looked. The magic circle glowed a little brighter as more of the slayer's body morphed, dragon features more prominent all over. Wendy was about to remove her hands, but when she tried to bring them back, she realised they were stuck. White light filled all four slayer's gaze, blinding them for a short period. When the light faded, Wendy could lift her hands again. She removed them, looking at the bottoms which were mysteriously without a scratch. She looked at Gajeel who sat up, most wounds healed.  
"Yeah, that worked. You did good there kid" he complemented, placing a hand on her head. Tears pricked her eyes before she tackled Gajeel in a hug.  
"I thought you were going to die" she cried, arms wrapping tight around him as his wings spread out in surprise. He looked down at her for a moment before his tail wrapped around her and he placed one hand on her back and one on her head.  
"Not today. None of us are dyin' today" he assured her, muzzle leaned into her hair as she cried into his shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter probably took the longest to write since I was going between watching the fight in the show and writing the chapter. About 1 more chapter and this arc is completed. I know the last few arcs are kinda rushed through but there isn't too much going on in those arcs. Plus I'm skipping things that are mostly the same to the actual canon storyline.


	56. Chapter 56

"Come now, Redfox, Marvel, Dreyar, Cobra. My faithful servants, let us destroy this city and bring it to the ground" Natsu laughed, waving his hand. A building was sliced in half by a gigantic sword that shortened back and morphed back to normal.  
"That guy has a sword for an arm"  
"Never mind that. He's a monster. Look at all those animal features" someone cried, gesturing to the iron slayer.   
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Laxus asks, leaning over to the other slayers.  
"Well, if he keeps calling us servants, then I'm climbing up there and busten his face in" Gajeel grumbles, tail flicking in annoyance. The Nyfern chirped at his feet, which unsettled the people even more. The other four slayers stood back while Natsu fought Mystogen, giving him the Fairy tail farewell. When the two landed the last punch and Natsu fell to the ground, the crowd cheered.   
"Jellal?" this brought the former fairy's attention. He looked up to see someone he recognized without a doubt.  
"Laxus. You're alright" he spoke. The blond soon embraced him.  
"I thought you were dead. Its been so long" Jellal looked at him before embracing him in return.  
"I'm so glad you're safe. I was worried that dad might have hurt you when I didn't see you at the battle"   
"No, I got away. But dad didn't. He sacrificed his life to get me out" he admitted. Jellal was quiet.  
"Don't worry. You're safe with me. You could even come back and live in the castle again, " he offers. Laxus hesitated, looking at the blue-haired prince before looking behind him again at his roommates.  
"No. I think I'm happy where I am. But I'll be sure to keep in contact" he assures him. Jellal looks at him, then smiles.  
"It'll be great to find out who the man my nephew has become and the people he's met" The attention is brought away from the reuniting family to the slayers who were being lifted from the ground. The Nyfern watched before jumping up and clinging onto Gajeel's trouser leg, refusing to let him leave. Its attempts failed and instead of bringing him down, it rose with him. Wendy and Natsu waved enthusiastically at their counterparts, wishing them well as they were slowly lifted out from the world and back to their own. The group fell back to the ground, landing in a pile on top of each other before sitting up.  
"Are we back?"  
"Hey look. The town. Its back"   
"Is everyone alright?" the group were experiencing slight whiplash from the sudden calm of everything and being back in their own home with everything seemingly back to normal.  
"Yeah, everyone is perfectly fine" someone chipped up. All of them looked up to face all the exceeds now in Earthland. It was followed up with an explanation of what had happened. When the Exceeds finally flew away to make their new home and find the eggs that had been sent to Earthland.  
"Uh Gajeel? What's that thing next to you?" Gray looks to the side.  
"Wait, isn't that the weird creature that kept following you around in Edolus?" Lucy adds on.  
"Yeah. Turns out the little guy didn't want me to leave, so he ended up coming with" the iron slayer chuckled, kneeling down and petting the Nyfern that leaned into his touch happily.  
"I think I'm gonna keep em" he chuckled.  
"Which means I have to accept another member into my house. At this rate I'll need to buy a new one" Laxus grumbles with his arms crossed.  
"Expect someone else. That soldier exceed is comin to the guild and being my cat. I'm not going to be the only first gen without a cat" he explains before looking around.  
"Where is he anyway?" he adds on.  
"I'm here" the deep voice calls. Everyone turns to find the exceed that was now the same size as Happy and Carla.  
"He's tiny" Lucy points out.  
"Yes. It seems my form was not suited for Earthland and I was reverted to this form" he explains. Gajeel looks towards Erza, who gives him a nod. He smirks before pulling the exceed into a hug while crying. Once that scene was over, the exceed brought a white-haired girl into view, one that Cobra, Gajeel and Lucy did not recognise.  
"Who's that?" Gajeel asks, leaning towards Laxus.  
"That's Lisanna. I don't know her that well, but she was friends with Natsu and I think Bickslow was close with her. She died a few years ago, though. At least I thought she did, " he explains before looking down at the Nyfern and then over to Lily.  
"I really need to get a bigger house" he sighs. The group eventually travel back to Magnolia, stopping at the cathedral to see Mira and Elfman, who were still in the same place they had been before. The group, alongside Mira and Elfman, returned to the guild which was all the same. Gajeel quickly embraced his two Phantom friends, who both looked at him with confusion.  
"What's with the hug? You aren't one to initiate surprise hugs" Totomaru points out.  
"I'm just glad you're both alright" he whispers to them, taking in their scent.  
"Uh. Thanks?"  
"Juvia is very confused" Natsu runs over as Gajeel lets go of them and looks at Totomaru.  
"Oh, thank gods. You're normal" he cheers, quickly embracing the fire mage.  
"What the hell. Let me go numb nuts" Totomaru snaps back, soon being released by the fire slayer.  
"Touch me like that again and I'll make sure to shove some of Gajeel's iron stash down your throat" he snaps, crossing his arms.  
"Oi. Don't touch my stash" Gajeel growled. He was followed with a growl from the Nyfern.  
"What is that thing? And why do you look like that?"   
"Well. He doesn't have a name yet, but he's a........ buddy I made. And..... I had a magic mishap is all. I can fix it now" he explains.   
"Are you going to?"  
"When I have access to a change of clothes" he responds, crossing his arms as his tail curls.   
"Yeah whatever"


	57. Chapter 57

"Gajeel, get down here" The iron slayer answered to his name being called, looking down the stairs at the other three slayers in the living room. He raised a studded eyebrow before slowly coming down the stairs.  
"I don't trust this. What's goin' on?"   
"Just sit down and we'll explain it to you" Cobra orders, pushing the slayer down onto the couch. Scales, the Nyfern leapt onto the couch, settling down against the slayer.  
"Alright. So, we all pitched in and got you a gift," Laxus explained, picking up a large box and placing it on the table in front of him. Gajeel leaned forward, nose twitching as he inspected it.  
"Is it going to explode in my face when I open it?"  
"What? No. Just open it" The iron slayer looked suspiciously at the three before tearing off the paper and pulling the lid of the box off. He sat staring down at what was inside. He lifted it up, running his hand over the small carved shapes in the metal. He looked down at the base and spotted the words carved into it.  
"This is- How did you-"  
"We took it to someone who could mend it. Some parts needed replaced, but we used these to do it" Natsu explained, flicking something white and shiny that was the size of his thumb towards the iron slayer. He caught it and looked at it.  
"These are-"  
"Your scales. Yeah. Gramps thought it might come in handy to keep a hold of the scales you shed after our fight in the cathedral. We fished a bunch out and used them to replace the parts that were missing or too damaged. Can't even tell the difference"  
"I can't believe it" the iron slayer muttered, voice almost cold.  
"Do you not like it?" Natsu asks, looking down at his feet. The iron slayer doesn't respond and the three take that at as a sign that he didn't like it until he started crying.  
"Wait. Why are you crying?"  
"Because this is the best gift someone's given me in so long..... I don't have words....... Thank you. All of you" he responded, body shaking.  
"You don't need to cry over it" Cobra assures him, sitting down on the couch with him.  
"You think I' doing this on purpose?" he asks. Scales lifts his head and looks at the slayer before chirping at him while climbing on his arm to get him to stop crying. He reached out and pet the little creature before wiping away his tears.  
"I need to go to the guild" he states, swinging the guitar strap over his shoulder as he walked towards the door. He ignored any noise coming from the other slayers and made his way to people who he was looking for were sitting.  
"Oi, Fire prince. Raindrop. Come here" he called to them. Both looked over before getting to their feet and approaching.  
"Alright, who died?" the fire mage asks sarcastically, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow.  
"Haha. No one died. I came to show you this" he explains, taking the guitar off his back and showing it to the two. Both mages' faces lit up like a child on Christmas.  
"Is that-?"  
"Yeah it is" they both looked at each other for a second.  
"Dragon guitar!"  
"What?" Someone in the guild asks, looking at the group as they happily cheer the name that they had dubbed the instrument.  
"I don't understand what that means"  
"It's a name these two have given my guitar" Gajeel sighed.  
"Its official name is the Metalicana guitar, but that's a bit much so we just call it the dragon guitar" Totomaru explains.  
"Can Juvia hold it?" the iron slayer slowly places the guitar into her arms. She runs her fingers over the patterns and words that were carved into the metal.  
"Next time we hang out, you are bringing this. I want to hear you play it again, " Totomaru orders, looking at the slayer.  
"I haven't played in years-"  
"Don't care. You are bringing it" he objects.   
"Fine, whatever" he grumbles.  
"Oh, and go pack some clothes. We're going on a job. I need some jewel to pay off my mortgage next week" he adds on. Juvia looks at him with a smile.  
"And Juvia wants Cobra to come too. Cobra is part of team Phantom" she smiled, handing the guitar back to the iron slayer. Gajeel took it and swung the strap over his shoulders.  
"Fine. I'll tell Erik-"  
"I already know" the poison slayer cuts in, standing next to the slayer.  
"Well then. Sparky. I'll need yer keys" he yells, turning to the lightning slayer who tosses the keys at the slayer. He catches them and gives him a salute before walking out of the guild with Cobra at his side. They walked back to the house in relative silence, neither saying a word.   
"You know I don't actually have a bag to carry my things in right?" he asks, raising an eyebrow as the iron slayer pushed the door open.  
"Then you can use mine. I don't take much with me, anyway. Just clothes and iron. I'm gonna bring the guitar too. Raindrop and fire prince would not shut up if I didn't bring it" he chuckled, walking towards the bedroom. He pulled out the duffle bag from the wardrobe and began putting some spare clothes and a change of boots in it.  
"Do you really need a change of shoes?"  
"I've been going dragon more often now, and I'd rather not walk back here in my bare feet" he explains. Cobra pulled out a couple extra shirts and tucked them into the bag.  
"That should do for now. We should go meet Raindrop and Fire prince at the train station"   
"Sounds about right" the poison slayer agreed, picking up the bag so that he could carry it.


	58. Chapter 58

The group reached the town that their mission was in and were surprised to find it empty.  
"Anyone else find it suspicious that this place is a ghost town?" Totomaru asked, looking towards the other members of the group. Gajeel sniffed the air.  
"I can't pick up any scents. Its like everyone here just disappeared with no trail left behind" he grumbled, walking up to one of the doors. He tapped the door slightly, and it instantly fell backwards into the house with a loud creak. He turned to the other three.  
"I didn't do shit" he defended, hands raised up.   
"Did you go the wrong way or something?"  
"Juvia doesn't think so. Juvia has found a sign" the three men look at the sign which had the name of the town that they were supposed to go to.   
"If this is the right town, then where is everybody?" The fire mage asks, lifting one hand to his mouth. Cobra's ears twitched when he heard some kind of sound.  
"Can you hear that?" he asks, looking around. He couldn't pinpoint where the sound was coming from.  
"Hear what?" a thud followed up those words, and the three turned. The iron slayer was collapsed on the ground, dirt settling from the impact.   
"Gajeel!" Juvia yelled, running over and kneeling down next to the iron slayer.  
"What happened?" The dual haired mage asks, checking the slayer for a pulse which he found.  
"He's alive. His pulse is fine. What the hell made him collapse all of a sudden"   
"I don't know but we should get him away from here before the rest of us collapse" Cobra pointed out. The two former phantoms took hold of one of Gajeel's arms each, carrying the slayer out of the town and into the forest. They kept walking until they reached a clearing amongst the trees where they decided to settle down.  
"We should set up camp here for now. Who knows how long he could be out for" Cobra suggests, dropping the bag he carried next to a rock. The two mages slowly set Gajeel down, removing the guitar from his back so it wouldn't get damaged. When they were sure the slayer would be fine, both walked off to find dry sticks so that the fire mage could make a fire. Cobra stayed seated at their temporary camp, trying to figure out what the noise he'd heard was. The two mages returned with armfulls of sticks, both dropping them onto the ground before slowly setting some up to start a fire. Totomaru clicked his fingers, fire blazing in his hand as he threw the small blaze into the stick pile and letting it catch fire.   
"So now what? We can't just leave when Gajeel wakes up. We have to find out what happened here?"  
"And how are we going to do that when we could all just pass out randomly" Cobra pointed out, leaning against the rock behind him.  
"Oh I'm sorry that you don't want to find out what happened here-"  
"I never said that but chances are if the enemy is still around then we might have a disadvantage if we keep passing out" he counters. Totomaru was about to counter shuffling alerted them. Gajeel sat up, rubbing one hand against the side of his head and yawning.   
"Gajeel. Juvia asks what happened?"  
"I dunno. I was just tryin to find some scents when I suddenly heard this weird nosie and I felt really tired all of a sudden. It was so strange"  
"Wait. You heard the noise too?" The iron slayer turned to his partner, blinking for a second.  
"So I wasn't the only one who heard it" he mumbles.  
"So if both of you heard the same noise, how come only Gajeel passed out while you were perfectly fine" Totomaru asks, looking between the two.  
"That's something I don't know but now we know that it has something to do with a sound and the two of you clearly didn't hear it so it must be so high pitched that only the two of us were able to pick it up" Cobra explained, looking at Gajeel.  
"So there's a chance you might pass out randomly too but we'll be fine"  
"That's the thing. I heard the sound clearly and I didn't feel tired in the slightest and yet Gajeel passed out almost instantly. It doesn't make sense"  
"Unless there's something about that noise that only affected me. It could be based on something that I have but you don't" he points out.  
"Like wh-" the elf stopped in his yelling when something crossed his mind.  
"That's it. It must have something to do with species. I'm not the same species as you but both of us have sensitive ears. It must be some kind of spell that doesn't affect me because of the different chemical makeup"   
"That actually makes sense but why target people............. unless it isn't people that was targetted"   
"Its a spell directed at some kind of reptile. That's why you were the only one affected"  
"And the affects might have been weakend on me because of my nature"  
"You both have us lost. What's going on?" the dual haired mage asks, raising an eyebrow. Both slayers turned to them.  
"We might have just figured out what happened to the towns people" Cobra explains.  
"That doesn't help anything if we can't enter the town safely"   
"We can. We just need to make sure that Gajeel doesn't hear that noise and it won't affect him"  
"We don't-"  
"Oh I have a plan" the iron slayer smirked, looking back at his partner who returned the smirk knowingly.  
"Care to elaborate"  
"No problem. You might want to sit down for this one"


	59. Chapter 59

eturning to the village, the group began looking around the town, checking every building and searching for any sign of the citizens.   
"Juvia asks if Cobra can hear anything?" the water mage questioned, turning to the marron haired mage. He shook his head.  
"Even that weird noise from before is gone," he explains.  
"Just so you know, we could have done this with just Gajeel," the fire mage sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
"Oh, I'm sorry but if you haven't noticed, he has to keep his ears blocked so his only useful attribute right now is his nose," the elf snapped in return, gesturing to the iron slayer who raised an eyebrow in question. Juvia turned to him and began signing to him so that he could understand what was going on. He looked at the two with an unimpressed look. Totomaru sighed heavily, tilting his head with an eye roll. The iron slayer turned away from the two and began wandering around again, nose twitching as he searched for any scents he could follow. He keeps checking for scents until he picked up an unfamiliar scent. He turns to the group, moving his hands, but none of them were looking in his direction. He breathed heavily through his nose before picking up a rock and throwing it. The three mages turn towards the noise before looking at the slayer who had an irritated look on his face.  
"He knows that he could have just said something. His ears are plugged not his voice"   
"Maybe he's prioritising stealth. He can't hear what he would say" the two mages were back to bickering. The water mage ignored them, turning to Gajeel and signing to him. He answered her question.  
"Gajeel has found a scent" she tells the two men. Both turn to look at her before the fire mage pushes Cobra's forehead. The slayer looks at him with a narrowed gaze but turns to look at the iron slayer who was now following the scent trail he'd picked out before. He follows the trail which leads to an old temple that was the head of the town. The group enters and are immediatly met with two different paths. Gajeel walks between the two, nose twitching. He stops between the two archways and turns to the group, signing to them.  
"Are you kidding me? I'm not pairing up with him. Why don't you take your buddy and I'll go with Juvia" the fire mage objects, looking at the elf from the side of his eye. Cobra turned his head away, a slight hiss exiting his mouth. Gajeel gave an unimpressed look before gently taking Juvia's hand and leading her towards the right side corridor.  
"Juvia will see Totomaru and Cobra soon" she smiles before turning and following Gajeel to the point where he could let go of her wrist. The two males were left standing in the main entrance of the temple. Cobra's ears twitched before he began walking towards the left archway.  
"What are you doing?"  
"Looking for whatever kidnapped those townspeople. Obviously" he replied, entering the corridor. Totomaru soon joined him, walking at his side with hands in his pockets. Both were silent before Cobra spoke up.  
"I don't see why you hate me so much. I didn't do shit to you" Totomaru looked at him for a second before breathing through his nose.  
"You act like you know Gajeel but you weren't there when we were in Phantom. You have no clue what any of us went through" he finally snapped. Cobra stopped in place and turned to look.  
"You underestimate my abilities. I can hear into anyone's head. I might not know everything about what Jose did to him. To all of you but I know some of it"  
"Prove it"  
"You want me to prove it. Fine. I know that if you didn't do what he said or failed to meet his expectations then he would drag you to his office and punish you" The fire mage was taken back for a moment.  
"You wouldn't know how it feels to be used as a means to an end. We were disposible. You had a place in your guild" The elf felt anger bubbling up. He pushed the fire mage into the wall, hands gripping the other's coat.  
"You really think Brain didn't see me as disposible. He was going to replace me with Natsu. He didn't give a shit about me and was willing to leave me for dead. Brain is no better than Jose in any regard." he snapped. The fire mage looked at him before lowering his head and sighed.  
"Well then I apologise. I stepped out of line. I just...... Gajeel never mentioned anything to do with you..."  
"There's a lot of things he doesn't talk about. Gajeel isn't exactly one to express himself freely, no matter what he says otherwise" the slayer explained, letting go of the other's coat and turning away to continue walking. Both were silent again until the elf spoke up again.   
"So..... when did he stop being short?"  
"16"   
"Really? Damm. That's later than I thought" Totomaru was about to say something when he suddenly keeled over at the strong smell of decay.   
"Oh gods. What the hell is causing that smell?" Cobra turned towards the archway they were nearing and sniffed the air.  
"The only thing that smell could be is some kind of meat. From the rancid smell, I'd say its a few days old" he explains.  
"We're going to go check it out aren't we" Cobra nods.  
"Lovely" Both mages walked towards the room. The room was lit through a skylight that fell down on a statue in the middle. Surrounding the statue was what could just be identified as the decaying body of several people.  
"What happened here?" The dual haired male asked, looking around at the different people that were shredded on the ground. In front of the statue were some scattered bones, two small to be human and the skull was missing from the mess. Cobra leaned down, fingers tracing over one of the bones which had 5 deep slash marks left in them. He looks around. Most of the corpses had similar wounds and those who didn't had punture wounds surround their necks that looked similar to a full set of teeth. The room itself had no other entrance or exit except for the window in the middle. The elf turned to his partner.  
"What's wrong?"  
"How long was that job request up for?" he asks.  
"It was put up this morning"  
"What was the exact instructions on the flyer?"  
"It was asking for exactly one dragon slayer, preferably a metal based.... one" the fire mage trailed off.  
"The townspeople were never the targets"   
"Gajeel and Juvia" the fire mage turned and began running back down the corridor. Cobra quickly caught up.  
"It makes so much sense now. Gajeel was the target all along" Cobra says.  
"And we were to preoccupied to realise and left Juvia and Gajeel to wander right into a trap"   
"Maybe we aren't too late and we can get to them before that thing does"  
"We can only hope we do"


	60. Chapter 60

_"Metalicana, listen to me. You are making a mistake keeping that...... thing alive" a dragon snapped, tail swishing behind it as it stared at the retreating form of the iron dragon. He looked over his shoulder, observing the other reptile with an unmoving gaze.  
"Eilian, this matter does not concern you-"  
"It does when it will result in the deaths of humans. You saw what will happen. That thing is no less stable than any half-breed before it and you know it," Eilian snapped, her body lowering to a lowered stance. The iron dragon turned around swiftly, staring at the other dragon.  
"He is as stable as any of the other dragon slayers. Insinuating that he isn't would be doubting my teaching and care" he growled, staring at her with narrowed eyes. Eilian spread out her large golden wings, teeth revealed in a snarl.   
"And what of the humans that will die. The dragons will resent you for those unnecessary deaths. Especially Igneel and Grandeeney. The only solution is to kill the half-breed"   
"This conversation is done. I will never be the reason that Gajeel's life was cut short. Not because of an accident with his magic, and not because I killed him. He will live and I will find a way to prevent the future that we saw," the iron slayer objects, turning around.   
"Just you wait, Metalicana. That beast will bring nothing but destruction in its wake. You're dooming the humans to a fate worse than you could ever imagine, ," Eilian yelled after the slayer who ignored the reptile, instead taking to the sky and flying back to his cave._

When the iron slayer finally came back around to his senses, he became acutely aware of what was happening around him. The first was the pain radiating throughout his mouth, which only intensified every time he tried to open it. The other was that he was pinned down to the ground by someone who was about 2 foot taller than he was, putting them at around 8 foot. The skull of some kind of animal was covering their face, although golden strands were noticeable through the cracks in the skull that surrounded two horns, one twisted and one broken. An orb around the size of his hand dangled from around their neck. Whatever was above him noticed that he had awoke and proceeded to turn its attention to him instead, sharp claws running down the side of his face.  
"Good. You're awake. I'm glad I don't have to hold off on the pain any longer" it purred, meeting his eyes with bright indigo eyes that shone through the eye sockets of the skull it wore. He tried to kick it off but a taloned foot took a hold of his ankle and sunk deep into his skin right through his boots. The iron slayer would have let out a pained cry if his jaws weren't being clamped shut by an unknown force.   
"Don't squirm. It won't make a difference. I'll kill you either way" it hissed, grabbing onto his jaw and letting nails sink into the skin, drawing blood.   
"And don't bother trying to call for those humans and the elf. They won't hear you like that," Gajeel looked at it before attempting to swing his arm at it only to have it caught."  
"Did Metalicana teach you nothing? I would have thought he would have taught a half-breed like yourself how to defend itself better," it chuckled, meeting his gaze again. Dread filled the slayer's entire body.  
"Oh yeah. You'll be wishing you could beg for mercy when I'm done with you. I'll be sure to take your skull as my trophy" it affirmed before 4 claws sunk into the right side of the slayer's forehead. His muffled cries didn't go unheard by the creature above him. It smiled wide, sharp teeth stained red and reeking of raw meat. The slayer scrunched up his nose momentarily before his entire body convulsed as those claws in his forehead were dragged down the side of his face and across his eye. He swung his head around, managing to get the claws out of his face, although not without the cost of his right ear. Talons were forced deeper into his ankle, sending searing hot pain up the slayer's leg. He struggled slightly until he finally pushed the creature off him and tried to get to his feet, doing his best to ignore the worsening pain in his ankle. The creature got to its feet quickly, indigo eyes staring him down with pure hatred. Golden scales were appearing across the sides of its neck as it stood staring at him. It then proceeded to charge forward, grabbing his head and slamming it into the ground, being accompanied by the resounding crack.   
"You little brat. What the hell did Metalicana see in a disgusting half breed like you" it spat, kicking the slayer across the room to hit a wall. The iron slayer did his best to push himself up, but the pain was getting increasingly worse. One eye was completely busted while the other was becoming hazy and he couldn't think straight with the pounding in his skull. Before he had time to react, he was swiftly decked in the jaw, the pain from his mouth flaring up with anger at the assault. He was pulled up, left dangling inches from the ground by the creature in front of him. It smiled again.  
"Oh, I hope Metalicana is watching this. The creature he fought so hard to protect dying at my hands. Its better than a beast like you deserves" it hissed at him, dropping the slayer to the ground. Soon it was followed by hot breath near his neck, but the slayer was unable to fight back with his arms being pinned and the rest of his body in pain. Teeth sunk into the skin of his neck, leaving the slayer to slowly fall into an unconscious state with blood pooling out of his neck. 


End file.
